


Tartarus

by Renaerys



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Even Lillie has thorns, F/M, Gladion is an oblivious emotional mess, Hau is the wisest, Realistic Pokemon AU, Selene cares way too much and she doesn't want you to know it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2018-12-20 22:09:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 110,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11930298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Renaerys/pseuds/Renaerys
Summary: When a scientist on the edge of a major discovery vanishes without a trace, his wife mounts a desperate search to the ends of the world and beyond. But she isn't the only one searching for something, and some doors, once opened, are not so easily closed. [Alola ensemble cast. Eventual LonaShipping. Realistic Pokémon AU]





	1. A Man and a Nebula Walked Into an Ultra Mirror...

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been wondering how a Pokémon story might turn out if it was written in the style of a world similar to Stranger Things or The Mist or other such Lovecraftian horror stories. Pokémon are monsters after a fashion, after all. Sun and Moon scratched the surface of such a concept, and I’m really excited to explore it more here and see how it goes. As always, there will be a variety of romance, family, friendship, etc. throughout, something for every reader to enjoy. This story takes place in the Tamerverse, a realistic Pokémon AU of my own creation. Everything you need to know about Tamers can be found in my profile, and I highly encourage you to spend three minutes to check it out if you’re not familiar with my Pokémon stories already. While not a sequel to or spin-off of any other story, all my Pokémon fics exist in the same story universe and build upon each other in that sense. References to events and characters from other stories will be present here, but as in my fic Wanderer should not detract from a newcomer’s enjoyment too much. For those of you who have read some of my other fics, timeline-wise the main story takes place several years after the events of Triumvirate and Clash of Crowns. As such, this story should be considered its own adventure not connected to the plots of any other fics.

  _“One need not be a chamber to be haunted,_  
_One need not be a house;_  
_The brain has corridors surpassing_  
_Material place."_

\- Emily Dickens

* * *

The laboratory room was chilly and dark at this hour. Artificial lights bathed the stucco walls in pale halos and cast shadows in the corners, an effect that almost erased the divide between floor and wall, wall and ceiling. The laboratory was expansive and state of the art, meant to accommodate over seventy researchers at full capacity. It was high-vaulted with floor to ceiling windows on the northern side that offered a view of the sea and the mainland beyond. At this late hour, the sea was nothing but a low and thunderous churn of oily black waves slushing against the metal and concrete foundation, as if to depredate it to sand, and the distant lights of sleepless Heahea City glittered faintly through the gloom. It was so late that the edges of the room, blended together in whitewashed oblivion, had begun to move and spin the longer he spent in here, as though the space had begun to constrict like the stomach of some great pale worm. He hated this place after a time, and yet, it was his place, his lair, his castle, his cradle. There were worse places to spend one’s days and nights.

Mohn scratched his chin. His nails were too long, and they scraped against his coarse blond stubble. It had been at least a two days since he’d last left this room, his personal lab on the floating corporate headquarters and Pokémon sanctuary known as Aether Paradise, but he hardly noticed the passage of time. He was so absorbed in his research that he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d eaten. There were sweat stains in the pits of his floral Alolan shirt, and he got up to stretch out his aching back. His two doctorate degrees and the prestigious Galactic Award for Outstanding Achievement in Astrophysics, framed and hanging by his desk, proved him to be a leading mind in his field, but they had no effect on his standards for cleanliness. He yawned and went to the nearby sink to rinse out his mug and prepare a fresh pot of coffee. Personal hygiene could wait; he was on the verge of a breakthrough, he could feel it.

As the coffee maker whirred and squeezed out a stream of sludgy black caffeine, Mohn considered what he would do for the next couple hours before heading upstairs to the top floor living quarters to rejoin his family. The Ultra Mirror, a device of his own invention meant to gaze into an alternate dimension known as Ultra Space, sat at the far end of the lab powered down. It was no true mirror at all, but a ring of metal and cable as tall as a man hooked up to a series of high-powered computer equipment. It was this invention and the many studies born from it that had won him international recognition and acclaim.

Until the Ultra Mirror, humans had no way of proving the existence of alternate dimensions. There were legends, to be sure. Some spoke of mythical Pokémon with the power to bend Time and Space, like the ancient Dragon gods of Sinnoh that dwelled in parallel universes. There were Alola’s own indigenous myths about an ancient race of kings and queens who worshipped deities that ruled this land from faraway worlds. And there were Ghosts, unnatural beings said to have crossed a dimensional rift into this world from another plane, if the Mediums they haunted could be believed. Mohn had never met a Medium, a Ghost Tamer, and he did not need to. What he had in the Ultra Mirror was all the proof he needed that mankind was not alone in the universe. It was his life’s work, and it was made possible by his wealthy wife’s company, which had funded his studies when he was just starting out. Now, his name was in physics textbooks at every major university around the world, and his discoveries and theories were pioneering breakthroughs in his field.

But it wasn’t enough. Seeing is believing, but Mohn had never been a man of faith. He wanted to touch, to experience first-hand what he had discovered. If there were other worlds out there, and there were, then the next logical step was to explore them. Mohn downed his coffee, wincing at the acrid taste, and determined to make some progress in the next hour before he emerged back into the world of the living.

He made his way back to the Ultra Mirror device, X-Transceiver pad in hand, and scrolled through some notes he and his team had made from the last test run. His team, a mixed group of ambitious graduate students and veteran researchers, had all been hand-picked to help Mohn on his path to discovery over these long years, but they were all asleep in their beds in the crew quarters of Aether Paradise, like any sane person would be at this witching hour.

 _I’m so close,_ he thought as he set down the X-Transceiver pad and powered up the Ultra Mirror. _Just a little more, and I’ll find the answer._

He waited for the device to amass power and stood back to monitor the machine’s progress on the main computer. The Ultra Mirror’s hollow center flashed like a hologram, dark before the stark white wall behind it, but it sputtered and faded. Frowning, Mohn checked the system on the computer in search of the problem. Sometimes the device malfunctioned, it was nothing out of the ordinary. The Ultra Mirror sucked up a sizeable chunk of power when in use, and he could only run it sparingly at night when the rest of Aether’s scientists were with their families enjoying the evenings off. Like he ought to be doing now, he thought a little guiltily.

Mohn glanced at the framed picture on his desk next to the computer monitor. He was younger in it, lacking the current ale gut and stubble, clad in swim trunks and smiling dreamily at the camera in a way that brought out his sun-kissed surfer good looks. His young wife, Lusamine, was a vision next to him on that warm summer day under the shady brim of her floppy beach hat. She was leggy and lithe, symmetrical as a porcelain doll, platinum blonde with expressive eyes the color of moss. Their children, Gladion and Lillie, were little more than toddlers then. Gladion had knocked out one of his two front teeth playing, but that didn’t stop him grinning cheekily for the camera and puffing out his little chest as he towered over his younger sister, who was on her rear with a blue Ducklett-head inner tube around her waist. She was the spitting image of her mother, more so every day since then as she grew. She and Gladion were still small, just eight and eleven now, respectively, but more often than not it seemed to Mohn that the years flew by without him even realizing it. He could remember that day at the Hano Beach Resort in Heahea City so clearly, though it had been so long ago.

He picked up the frame to admire it, smiling a little to himself. Lillie and Gladion would be sound asleep at this hour, but perhaps he could look in on them before joining Lusamine for the night. His thoughts were interrupted when his computer beeped in warning. The system had detected an error in the programming. He set down the frame and began to troubleshoot, his fingers flying over the keys trying to detect the source of the problem, but nothing was working. He was so engrossed in the computer that he did not notice the Ultra Mirror powering up again.

“Come on,” he grumbled, tweaking the code and rubbing his bleary eyes. “Come on, damnit.”

Something cracked loudly, and Mohn jumped in alarm. The Ultra Mirror sparked violently, bursting a couple electric cables and shorting the power to the entire lab. For a moment, the room went dark. After a few seconds, the backup generators kicked in with a whirr, and soon the lights flickered back on. The computer screen flashed, and the beeping ceased. Mohn glared at the screen, perturbed. The warnings were gone, and the system was functioning normally again. He checked the coding, the security, everything, but it all seemed back online in good shape.

 _Need to get the hard drives changed again,_ he thought. The Ultra Mirror used up so much power that it could fry through hardware after just one use. He would have to put in a request with IT in the morning.

Frustrated that the test had been cut unceremoniously short, he rubbed his tired eyes again. It would seem work would have to wait until tomorrow, when he could get replacement parts down here. Someone needed to invent a better super computer and quickly, he lamented. Or an infinite power source, whatever was easier. He scratched the back of his neck, grimacing at his sticky hair that needed washing. And probably a trim, now that he thought about it. Tomorrow, all tomorrow. Right now, he had a lovely wife and two young children upstairs in the living quarters waiting on him, and he had the urge to go to them.

Stretching, Mohn stifled a yawn and rose out of his chair. He had a thought that if he put in the request to IT now, he’d have the equipment he needed ready to go in the morning without having to waste any time. Happy with this latest stroke of efficiency, he booted up the internal messenger client on the computer to put in the request.

But as he was typing the note, the Ultra Mirror sparked again and sent a shock through the power lines that shorted the computer and the other equipment in the lab. Jolted, Mohn yelped and stumbled back. He bumped the cabinet behind him and sent it crashing to the floor with a loud clatter. The drawers spilled open and littered files and folders all around, and one of the thick windows overlooking the open sea cracked. Mohn was on his rear on the tiled floor, grimacing in pain and shock. It was soon forgotten, however, when he caught sight of the Ultra Mirror beyond his desk powered to life like he’d never seen it before. The device was a looking glass, its images normally hazy like a black and white film, but now the picture was more vivid than he’d ever seen it before. He crawled to his feet and stumbled closer to get a better look.

A dark room lay on the other side, swathed in shadows. He blinked, the pain in his lower back clouding his mind, and tried to make sense of what he was seeing: a smashed desk, disheveled cabinets, broken windows overlooking a turgid black sea, and metal equipment, dusty and covered in black mold as though it had been rotting in a damp dark place for years.

“That’s...” he trailed off, incredulous.

_My lab?_

It was as if he were looking at a mirror image of his lab, inverted and in a state of apocalyptic decay. Never had the image through the Ultra Mirror been so detailed, so real. Unable to contain his curiosity, he limped closer around his desk and reached for it. The closer he came, the clearer he saw. The image was no mere holographic screen, as the Ultra Mirror had projected in all previous trials, but a viscous, undulating surface, tangible and real. He could only stare and tremble.

“What...?”

The image rippled, and before he knew what was happening, something burst through it and landed square in his chest, knocking him down all over again. His lower back erupted with fresh pain, and he cried out. The back of his shirt was warm and wet where he’d cut himself on the edge of the filing cabinet before, and it stung badly. Groaning, Mohn tried to push himself up on his elbows.

He came face to face with a creature unlike anything he had ever seen before. She was like a cloud given sentience, her body smoky and soft, and she was as light as cotton. She glowed, a smoky bundle of vermicular blue and violet, and two foggy yellow eyes watered in her dark center, blinking. She made a noise, tinkling like a chime, that was instantly soothing and assuaged Mohn’s instinctual confusion and fear.

“Why, look at you,” he said, hardly able to believe his eyes.

His fingers grazed over the small creature’s gaseous body, surprised that amidst that smoky exterior lay a soft and fluffy body, as solid as a Cottonee. The creature vibrated and chimed again. Was she happy?

“Where did you come from?” he began as his gaze drifted up toward the Ultra Mirror, still rippling with the image of the dark reverse lab on the other side.

Mohn was instantly transfixed.

_Not a mirror..._

He grimaced in pain as he once more attempted to get to his feet. The white tile smeared with his blood where he’d been before, and more dripped slowly down the back of his shirt to puddle at his feet, but he hardly cared at the moment. The creature rose with him, a curious little thing, and followed him to the Ultra Mirror. Mohn peered through it and dared to touch it. He gasped when his fingers came away cold and damp, like touching wet wool. His mind raced.

“Good Groudon,” he said, out of breath. “It’s _real_.”

The creature chimed again and hovered near, smoking from her ears. Or were they horns? They faded to a misty shade of blue, like starlight and smoke.

“You,” Mohn said, reaching for the creature again and holding her in his hands. “You actually came through there?”

He could not believe it. Somehow, some way, he had achieved a years-long goal due to a system malfunction. And not only that, but this creature... He marveled at her, a true miracle. Proof.

 _I have proof!_ he thought, his excitement building and the ache in his back nearly forgotten.

Proof that Ultra Space could be accessed, a stable dimension parallel to this one. Proof that living creatures could survive there, possibly even thrive there judging from this little one’s seemingly hale condition. And perhaps one day, a place that could be colonized by humans. A new frontier. Oh, there was so much work to be done! He did not even know where to begin. He had not planned this far ahead. Overwhelmed, he broke out into a smile and laughed at the absurdity of it all. The creature seemed to like the sound of his laughter, and she chimed again. Her colors shimmered over her cloudy body, like so many stars clustered in a nebula bright enough to light even the darkest depths of outer space.

He had to tell Lusamine. She would be thrilled at his breakthrough. They had to wake the team, bring more bodies to the project right this moment. Now, there was something to share. Now, he had proof. The possibilities were endless. Mohn made to head back to his desk, but the Ultra Mirror sparked again and spooked the little creature. The viscous barrier between this world and beyond undulated under the stress, and the strange inverted room on the other side grew darker. Something moved in the depths.

“What—”

But before Mohn could get a word out, the creature in his hands Teleported across the lab just as something reached through the barrier to snatch her up. Long black fingers, serrated and tapering, closed around the only solid thing left where the creature had once been, and Mohn felt them bite into his shoulder through skin and bone. They were icy knives in his flesh, so cold he was half numb to the pain on contact, and he heard the snap of his bones under their crushing grip. Terrified, Mohn looked back at the little creature who had barely eluded capture across the room and opened his mouth in a scream, but the hand yanked him with a force not of this world and reeled him through the Ultra Mirror like a hooked Feebass. His scream died on his lips as he passed through, and there was not a trace of him left but the smears of blood he’d shed on the pristine white tiles.

The Ultra Mirror sparked again, short-circuiting, and collapsed. Light bulbs exploded in their halogen lamps, the cracked window burst and let in the shrieking sea winds, and the computer equipment smoked as it overheated, setting off a blaring emergency alarm.

* * *

 

When the security team and their Pokémon arrived minutes later and burst through the door, they found the lab in ruins as though a cyclone had passed through it. Files were scattered all over, hardware was warped and destroyed or on fire, and the Ultra Mirror’s skeletal frame was cracked and sparking.

A sleep-tousled blonde woman in a white satin robe pushed her way through the armed security guards with the help of her Bewear, a huge brown and pink bear lumbering on his hind legs with the strength of ten men and a temper shorter than the attention span of a Venonat. Voices talked over each other as they tried to make sense of what had happened, what had caused this destruction.

“Mohn?” demanded the woman. “Where is he? Where is my husband?”

“He’s not in the lab, Madam President,” said one of the white-clad security guards who was accompanied by a hardy Makuhita.

“President Lusamine,” said another guard, “I think you ought to take a look at this.”

Lusamine marched across the room, but all the color drained from her face at the sight of blood on the floor. The security guard was crouched down over it, and some was on his fingers.

“It’s warm,” he said, his tone grave. “Fresh.”

Lusamine blinked as she processed this. Her long blonde hair was pinned back in a messy bun, and her bangs framed her face, enviably beautiful in her thirty-seven years. “ _Where_ is he?” she demanded again.

“I don’t know,” the guard said, abashed.

“Then _find_ him! He’s bleeding and hurt, and the lab is a disaster. That window’s broken, so search the sea if you have to. This is an emergency! Get moving and _find my husband_!”

She was nervous and afraid, and with good reason. Her guards were just as concerned—there was no evidence of a break in with the windows broken from the inside-out and looming a good fifty feet off the water’s surface, and no one was in the labs this late but Mohn. Tensions were high, and Lusamine’s Bewear growled menacingly at anyone that moved, smelling his mistress’s distress and the fresh blood on the floor.

Lusamine caught sight of the Ultra Mirror, sparking and broken, and stared uncomprehending.

“The shatter came from the inside,” said one of the guards examining the burst window nearby. He was looking at his partner, a short stout woman armed with a cattle prod, with a pained expression. “A fall from this height...”

“The windows are thick,” the female guard acknowledged, “but not so thick that they couldn’t break under the right amount of pressure...”

Lusamine shifted her attention to them, her mind sluggish to comprehend the audacity of their words. “Excuse you, what are you implying?” she said, advancing on them.

When they saw her coming, they bowed their heads in fearful respect, unable to meet her gaze. “President Lusamine,” the man said, “we were just examining the window scene, and—”

“And it’s suspicious,” the woman said. “Begging your pardon, Madam President, but we have to consider every possibility if we want to find Professor Mohn as soon as possible.”

Lusamine gaped in silent fury at them. “...Professor Mohn is my _husband_ ,” she said, hardly recognizing her own voice over the sudden paroxysm that hit her like lightning. “He’s a world-renowned physicist and the father of my _children_. He is not and never has been suicidal. How _dare_ you raise such a disgusting theory.”

The female guard nodded solemnly. “My apologies, I did not mean...”

“You’re not paid to make apologies. Come dawn, you will be on the first ferry back to Heahea City. If I ever see you here again, I’ll have you test out your every possibility through this very window.”

The female guard went white as curdled milk and lost her composure as her lower lip trembled, wet and pink. “M-Madam President, please! I didn’t mean—”

“Madam President! I’ve found something!” called another security guard across the lab. “Hey, sit still, you!”

Lusamine whirled and saw what had caught the guard’s attention: a strange creature that looked more like a cloud of glitter than any Pokémon she had ever seen.

“This setup,” said a new voice, one of the team members Mohn had recruited to work with him. She was the first of the team to be roused from sleep to investigate, and she wore Buneary slippers and a purple bathrobe as she examined the high-tech equipment. “It looks like Professor Mohn was using the Ultra Mirror,” she explained. “It must have malfunctioned to cause such extensive damage like this.”

Lusamine stared between the odd Pokémon and the woman, an astrophysicist whom Mohn had selected from a large pool of talented doctoral candidates from around the world to work closely with him on this project, the study of Ultra Space. Isla Burnet was over a decade Lusamine’s junior, but she was as brilliant as they came. A native Unovan, Burnet had been recruited as a graduate student at Castelia University while she was abroad in Alola doing her dissertation research. She had a face made for smiling, warm laughter compared to Lusamine’s immortal winter. Tonight, however, Burnet was as shaky as an autumn leaf braving the first frost.

“We weren’t scheduled to do another test of the Ultra Mirror until the end of the month,” Burnet said. “This is highly irregular. I’ve never seen this kind of reaction...”

“What does that mean?” Lusamine demanded, her fear for her husband growing by the minute.

“These readings are off the charts,” Burnet said, scrolling. “Wait, I think I have something here.”

“What?” Lusamine said, joining her at the work station.

“Whenever we tested the Ultra Mirror, we had the system set up to record everything so we could go back and review the trials,” Burnet explained. “The system’s pretty fried, but I think I might be able to pull up the video feed...”

Lusamine’s heart was pounding, and she felt like her heart might leap out of her throat at any moment. “Show me. I need to know what happened in here.”

“Right away,” Burnet said grimly as she worked.

“Madam President,” said another Aether security guard. “What about this creature?”

Lusamine looked up at the hazy creature that was floating around the lab doing her best to evade the security guards’ grabby hands. She moved as clumsily as a Cottonee and just as slowly, except whenever someone got a little too close; then, she Teleported a few feet out of reach to deftly evade her captors. She made a tinkling sound, like broken glass, her distress palpable.

“Contain it,” Lusamine said, exasperated. She didn’t have time for this when there were much more pressing concerns, like her husband’s whereabouts and safety. “Bewear, help them,” she ordered her Pokémon.

Bewear was as ungainly as the creature and caused even more of a mess trying to get around the lab after her, but he and two of the security guards kept at it while Burnet worked on the video feed.

“Aha!” Burnet declared triumphantly. “I’ve got it. The file’s corrupted, but I managed to clean it up enough to play us back something. Here we go...”

Lusamine loomed over her shoulder and watched the grainy picture play back the moments before the alarm had alerted her and the security team to danger. She saw Mohn hunched over at his computer, and a few moments later the screen went blank.

“What happened? Where did the picture go?” Lusamine said, anxious.

“I-I don’t know, it looks like it cut out. It’s part of the video, just a moment,” Burnet said, fiddling with the recording.

It came back on after a moment, and this time Mohn was on his rear on the floor by a fallen cabinet.

“What on earth?” Burnet said as she gazed at the video.

“What is it?” Lusamine said.

“The Ultra Mirror,” Burnet said, pointing at the image. “Look at that. It’s different from how I’ve ever seen it. That image...”

Lusamine was no astrophysicist, and she did not spend much time around any of Mohn’s work, too busy with running the Aether Corporation’s business and philanthropy side. As President and CEO, her work was even more demanding than her husband’s could be with all the traveling, crisis management, endless meetings, and multi-tasking she did on a daily basis. Running Aether was not unlike running a small country. Now, she was beginning to wish she had been more apprised of Mohn’s work.

_If anything’s happened to him..._

She shivered at the bleak thought. Fear, this was fear. As one of the most powerful business leaders in the world, Lusamine had rarely felt helpless and afraid. She had never imagined it to feel so crippling, so enervating, and that realization made her all the more afraid. She clenched her fists to keep them from trembling as she watched the playback with Burnet.

“That creature,” Lusamine said, watching as the video showed the creature’s appearance. “It just came through the Ultra Mirror.”

Burnet was gaping at the screen. “I don’t understand. That’s just not _possible_. The Ultra Mirror’s just supposed to show us an image of another dimension: Ultra Space. It’s not a portal. We hadn’t gotten that far in our research,” Burnet explained, shocked. “But this is—oh my god!”

The image faded in and out, as though the lighting in the lab was malfunctioning. One moment, Mohn was there with the odd creature, and the next the creature was clear across the room, and Mohn was gone. The last image of him was a split second view between blackouts, his body contorted at a sick angle over itself, and the next moment there was no trace of him. The Ultra Mirror short-circuited, and the video playback went dead.

Lusamine’s heart was pounding so loudly that she was certain the whole room could hear it. “Play it back,” she said, hating the quaver in her voice and the tightness in her throat. “That image wasn’t clear. I need to see it again.”

Burnet was in shock as she stared in horror at the screen. “H-He was... His _arm_ was—”

“Show me again!” Lusamine hissed, slamming her shaking hand on the desk.

Burnet saw her trembling, but she wordlessly complied. Lusamine was beyond caring what some up-jump post doc thought about her right now. She had to be certain.

_I’m not seeing things properly. I didn’t see it..._

The second time, the image was no less choppy, but she heard the sound she had wished she hadn’t. Mohn’s scream was cut short, strangled as though he’d been plunged underwater, but it was there, just a split second at the end before the feed cut out. And the way his shoulder snapped and his body lurched...

Her heart beat was so loud and fluttery in her head that she was struck with a crippling headache, and her chest was so tight she found it hard to breathe. She couldn’t feel her legs, and she lost her balance. Burnet was on her feet in an instant to catch her fall.

“Madam President!” someone shouted.

“Someone get the medical team down here ASAP!”

“What the— Gladion, Lillie, you kids can’t be in here!”

At the sound of her children’s names, the lucid part of Lusamine clawed its way past the oncoming hysteria and despair that were fast pulling her under at the realization that something had gone very, very wrong for her husband, and she turned to find them both at the door to the lab, slipping past the guards like a pair of slippery Poliwag. The intern looking after them, a voluptuous woman named Wicke, was frazzled and bleary-eyed in her mauve satin pajamas.

“Lillie, Gladion! Please come back here!” she cried in vain, too slow to keep up with the wily youngsters.

She was not alone. Faba, Aether’s leading evolutionary biologist, had also come to see what the commotion was. He was a spindly balding man with a pinched face, rheumy eyes, and poor posture. He was accompanied by others, faces Lusamine recognized from the conservation team, as well as one of the kitchen chefs and two janitors from the night shift. All had been drawn by the blaring alarms. But Lusamine was more concerned with her children.

“What’s goin’ on?” Gladion said, his grey-green eyes wide with apprehension as he took in the dilapidated condition of the lab—his father’s personal lab. “Where’s Dad? Why’d the alarm go off?”

Lillie, shy and always deferring to her big brother, clung to his hand but bravely looked around, her bright green eyes misty with unshed tears. They were accompanied by a poofy Stufful, who looked like he was still half asleep as he lumbered ungainly on all fours and yawned, revealing tiny sharp teeth. He bumped into Lillie’s legs and fell back on his rear.

“What are you doing here?” Lusamine said, rushing to them. “Daddy’s lab is off-limits, and you should be in bed, my darlings.”

“Ms. Lusamine, I’m _so_ sorry!” Wicke said, distraught. Her cat’s eye glasses were crooked in her haste to get out of bed and chase after them. “I-I don’t know how they got past me, I’m so terribly sorry!”

“Is that blood?” Gladion said, his gaze fixed on the smeared blood on the floor as Bewear ambled by.

Lillie whimpered and hugged his arm tighter. Lusamine felt a piece of her heart shatter in her chest, a pain so visceral that she felt her chest to make sure it wasn’t real. She took Gladion’s round face in her hands and kneeled down next to him. “It’s all right, my darling,” she said. “Listen to me, okay? I need you to take your sister back to your room. Can you do that? Can you be my brave knight and keep her safe?”

But Gladion was still staring at the blood, and there were tears in his eyes. Lillie was one thing, but at eleven, Gladion was not so easily assuaged. “Mom, where’s Dad?” he asked, his voice shaky. “Is that his blood?”

The sight of her son’s tears was the last straw for Lusamine, and she rose, wiping her own tears. “Wicke, take them out of here, _now_ ,” she said, hating the heat on her cheeks. _I must be strong for them. I can’t let them see me like this._ “Go with Wicke, both of you. I’ll be up to tuck you in soon.”

There was a crashing sound, and Lusamine whirled to see that one of the security guards and his Makuhita were smashing the fried Ultra Mirror to smithereens. She went white as a sheet, and suddenly her tears were forgotten as she descended on them in a white-hot rage. “What are you doing!?” she screamed at them. “What have you done?!”

The security guard shrank under her sudden wrath. “I-I thought— It’s what caused all this, so I thought it wasn’t safe for—”

“Silence!” she ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. “The Ultra Mirror is my only way to find out what happened to my husband! How could you be so incompetent?!”

Makuhita brandished his doughy fists at Lusamine, but Bewear was there to intimidate the puny Fighter into submission with a malevolent growl.

Lusamine fell upon the remains of the Ultra Mirror, her tears blurring her vision as the hysteria and desperation reached a boiling point, and she broke down. Ever the calm and cool ice queen in her role as Aether’s President, right now she was a wife facing her husband’s sudden and violent disappearance. All she could think of was Mohn, and that whatever had happened to him, there was no getting him back now that the Ultra Mirror was destroyed.

“H-Hello,” she heard Lillie say. “Who’re you?”

The creature that had appeared just before Mohn disappeared had eluded all efforts at capture, but now she was tucked snugly between Lillie’s skinny little arms and blinking up at her with smoky yellow eyes. Lillie’s face was tear-strewn and puffy red, but she’d stopped her crying long enough to gaze down at the odd creature.

“You’re pretty,” she said, sniffiling. “Like a...a nebula.”

Mohn had taught Gladion and Lillie about the stars and planets, his passion since he was a boy younger than either of them. Lillie had always been enchanted by the bright lights and colors visible through Mohn’s telescope, beauty worlds away. Stufful sniffed at the creature, and she made her ethereal chiming sound as her horns smoked. Indeed, she looked like a tiny cluster of stars and stardust, a self-contained nebula.

Wicke had her arms around Lillie and Gladion. “Come on, children, we shouldn’t be here,” she soothed. “Let me take you back to bed, okay?”

Gladion was as taut as a rubber band as he stared at the remains of the Ultra Mirror. He had lost his voice, too shocked to protest any further. Lillie hugged the creature close and refused to let her go.

“Not without Nebby!” she insisted.

“Oh, Lillie...” Wicke said, totally at a loss.

“Go,” Lusamine said, hardly recognizing her own voice. “Take them away from here, please. I don’t want them to see any this.”

“B-But this creature,” Wicke began.

“Just _go_!” Lusamine said. The words cut her throat like she was bringing up needles, and it was all she could do to hold back her tears for her children’s sake.

Wicke sensed something in Lusamine’s voice then, because she went deathly pale and took each child by the shoulders and all but pushed them out of the lab. Lillie took the odd creature with her, like she might any old plushie, and Stufful followed on clumsy club feet.

Later Lusamine could deal with that creature, whatever it was. Aether Paradise was alone on this small island; there was nowhere to go. Right now, she had to focus on her husband, for her sake and for her children’s. Burnet had watched the entire exchange, and now she was bent over the remains of the Ultra Mirror.

“Fix it,” Lusamine said.

Burnet swallowed hard. “It’s... I mean, this was Professor Mohn’s invention. I’m not... He was the leader of our team, and I don’t—”

“Just _do it_!” Lusamine shouted. “If this thing sucked him inside or _whatever_ the hell that was, then I mean to get him back. Are you saying you’re incapable?”

Burnet began to gather the tangled cables and smashed pieces and transported them to a long stainless steel table for closer examination. “No, I can fix it, Madam President. I’ll get started right away,” she said, cowed.

Lusamine stared at the broken pieces of the Ultra Mirror, now a useless scrap heap, and her head spun. Lillie and Gladion were safe in their beds, of this she could rest assured. They would be there waiting for her. Right now, she had to find Mohn no matter what it took.

“Get the rest of my husband’s team in here,” she ordered one of the security guards. “I want them working on restoring the Ultra Mirror and reversing what happened. I want my husband found as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Madam President,” said the guard. He spoke into the X-Transceiver radio he carried at his belt and communicated her orders to have the rest of the team roused and brought to the lab.

With that done, Lusamine had nothing else to do. She was no scientist or engineer herself, and her presence among them would likely only hinder their progress, which was unacceptable. But she could not face her children’s questions and fears without answers. She needed to find out what exactly had happened to Mohn. Perhaps then she could figure out a way to bring him back safe and sound.

With a new objective in mind, it became easy to compartmentalize and prioritize. Lusamine was a leader, a manager, and solving problems was her passion and her strength, be they familial or business or disaster. She wiped her cheeks of the last of her tears, smoothed her silken night robe, and went to Mohn’s computer to replay the footage and search for any clues about what could have caused the supposed malfunction Burnet had talked about.

Faba saw her at the computer and joined her. “Madam President,” he said in his nasally drawl. “I understand Professor Mohn is missing. I haven’t the words to express the depths of my despair for you and your children.”

“Not now, Faba,” Lusamine said, focusing her attention on the task at hand as she typed lightning fast and pulled up the video feed Burnet had accessed earlier. “I’m working.”

“Then please allow me to assist you in any way I can.”

“You can assist me by remaining silent.”

Faba was a bit of a character, obsequious and opportunistic and far older than the typical Aether recruit at fifty-five years old. He was Clairvoyant, a Tamer shadowed by Psychics, though unlike most of his kin, he was no great trainer of Pokémon, and whatever telepathic capabilities his blood supposedly granted him, he had never bothered to hone them. His interests lay elsewhere, and he was not shy about voicing such. He had a taste for fine wine and considered himself something of a connoisseur with a sizeable collection of rare vintages collecting dust in his private cellar, where they would likely remain until the day he dropped dead. A waste, but never let him hear you say it. Faba was of the opinion that his was the only one that mattered when it concerned his favorite hobby, or anything else under the sun. His large bug eyes were constantly running, and he carried tissues up the sleeves of his lab coat to dab at them, crusty as they dried and he stored them for later re-use. Lusamine had allowed him to shake her hand some years ago when he first joined Aether Foundation, and she could not get the sticky sensation of dried tears and phlegm from her fingers all night. Faba’s signature spectacles were enormous and took up half his face, thick as a finger and always smudged from dabbing his leaky eyes. Lusamine’s brother, Colress, had been with her when she was vetting him for hire, and he bore an instant and visceral dislike for Faba.

 _“The man is so unctuous he could slip through the most seasoned whore’s fingers and she’d pay him for the time spent,”_ he’d said after the initial meeting.

Lusamine was no fan, either, but she was running a business, not a book club. Colress had never understood that, which was why he was not running the family business in her place. Faba was a brilliant evolutionary biologist, one of the best in his field from Kanto to Kalos. He was educated at the prestigious Jubilife University in Sinnoh and honed his craft at Galactic Enterprises. His work had taken him to Laverre City in Kalos, where he met and mentored a young college student named Augustine Sycamore with an avid interest in Fairies, before he was hired by Aether Foundation to head their Pokémon Biology and Habitats division here in Alola. He was the best in his field, and for that she could ignore his bizarre quirks and habits, to a point.

Faba had some sense of her limits, because he wisely remained silent as requested and observed over her shoulder as she studied the video footage. Like a nightmare recalled in hazy shades of strobe-lit terror, the grainy footage was fast and cluttered, indecipherable.

“Madam President, if I may?” Faba said, reaching for the keyboard.

He hit something that made the playback slow down, and the picture was easier to follow. Lusamine scrutinized the screen.

“Slow it down more,” Lusamine said, scooting over for him to better reach the keyboard. “I want to see every single frame.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Faba slowed the frame rate down some more, and Lusamine zoomed in on the image of Mohn standing in front of the Ultra Mirror. Each frame flashed by at a snail’s pace, jerky like a home movie, but the focus allowed her to make some sense of what she was seeing. She paused at the frame in which Mohn was being sucked into the Ultra Mirror.

Faba squinted at the screen she’d frozen upon. Mohn was twisted strangely, his face nothing but a blur, but Lusamine could see his terror, hear the scream he hadn’t quite managed to get out. She shook with rage and despair.

“What is that?” Faba asked, pointing at the screen.

Lusamine leaned closer. “That blur? Does it mean something to you?”

“It’s odd, is all. The way his body is positioned there, like he’s leaning into it a bit. Don’t you think?”

It was difficult to tell, so she advanced the image another frame. Agonizingly slowly, she watched as Mohn’s body jerked and rose off the floor. Then, she saw something very strange. She sat there, transfixed, as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

“That dark part, there. It seems to be pulling him in,” Faba said. He produced a used crusty tissue from his sleeve and dabbed at his eye under his glasses, but Lusamine was too arrested by the image to care much. “It’s where the blur was before. A trick of the light, perhaps?”

Lusamine stared unblinking at the dark tendrils that wrapped around Mohn and seemed to drag him toward the Ultra Mirror.

_Could it be..._

She traced a manicured nail over the curling black. It was sinister in a way, a hand with fingers just a bit too long to be natural.

“What could it be?” Faba asked again.

“I don’t know,” Lusamine said. “But I intend to find out.”

She glared a hole at the shadowy hand that held Mohn at the edge of the mirror, hardly more than a trick of the light.

 _I’ll find you,_ she vowed. _In this world or the next._

No matter the cost, she would not rest until she did.


	2. Creep-Ass Psychic Cotton Candy Pet -or- She Makes a Horrible First Impression

_Ten Years Later_

Thirty feet below the water’s surface, Selene was digging in the sand in search of treasure. It was June and summer was finally here, bringing with it the cooler currents from Sinnoh to the north and a multitude of critters and creatures that followed it. It was at this time of year and only this time that Corsola hatchlings emerged from their cocoons, turning the pristine blue waters a soft peachy pink as they ambled slowly over the seafloor in search of food. When they had grown large enough, they would eventually venture into deeper waters to join their kin on a weeks-long migration all the way to Kanto in the east to mature, mate, and eventually return to lay their own eggs, starting the process all over again.

But it was not the Corsola she was hunting; that was the job of another. The treasure she sought would have been swept in on the tide and buried beneath fine white sands. Alone, she could not hope to find it, but she was never alone. A spiny Qwilfish had his nose in the sand as he burrowed, his flat tail flapping wildly to help drive him deeper as he kicked up sand everywhere. But his eyes were sharp, able to detect the faintest glimmer of light miles away, and he was rarely wrong. She was nearly out of breath when he found what he was looking for and suddenly puffed up like a balloon in his excitement. Inflated to nearly three times his regular size, the ebullient puffer fish could barely move except in gyrating circles head over tail fin, like a great fat blue and white planet in orbit around her. He’d found the prize, and she took it from his mouth to tuck away in the mesh bag over her shoulder that held other trinkets and treasures she’d collected this morning. Out of air, she kicked off the sandy sea bed, careful to avoid the tangled branches of colorful coral and swaying sea fans, and launched herself skyward.

She broke the surface and gasped for air. There was not a cloud in the sky this hot summer morning on Melemele Island, and she grinned as she lay back and let the gentle waves carry her back to shore. Qwilfish soon burst from the water next to her, flapping and flailing and still inflated, and she laughed. While an excellent defense mechanism that warded off would-be predators with the threat of deadly venom in the many thorns that popped out all over his body like a Cacturn, the super size made him clumsy and less than mobile.

“All right, settle down, Qwilfish,” she said, reaching for him.

To anyone else, a single prick from a Qwilfish’s poisoned thorns could mean an emergency trip to the Hau'oli General Hospital’s ICU, but not for her. Selene was Veleno, a Poison Tamer with a venomous touch herself, and a prick from a Qwilfish was little more than a friendly tickle. She took Qwilfish in her hands and began to massage him to calm him down. Her left hand was bloodlessly pale in contrast to her burnished copper skin, deep brown eyes, thick brown hair. Her right hand, however, was so dark it was nearly black, the violet rot like a cancer that began in her jagged fingernails and crept up to her elbow like a shadow.

Qwilfish didn’t mind either of her hands, and he grunted happily as she tickled and scratched his rubbery hide, calming him down. He was back to his normal size in no time and swimming about her as happy as a Rockruff, eager to see the prize they had dug up.

“All right, all right,” Selene said, still floating in the water close to shore. She was close enough to land now that she could stand on the bottom with the water up to her chest. “Check it out. This one’s a real prism scale!”

She produced the Milotic scale they had dug up, carried here from the freezing waters of the Primo Ocean at the northern pole of the world, where wild Milotic lived among the ice caps and could grow bigger even than Gyarados. Widely considered the most beautiful Pokémon in the world, their scales were coveted by collectors, jewelers, and armorers alike. They were thin but extremely sturdy, and they shone with a rainbow glow that reminded Selene of a pretty picture of a faraway galaxy she’d seen in grade school, amazed that such strange and wonderful things could exist in total darkness so far away. So many colors, all contained in this smooth scale that could fit in her palm. Like a true prism, it reflected and refracted every color imaginable, beautiful beyond words. Her mother would be very pleased with this find.

Selene emerged from the sea and walked toward the pile of her things she’d left ashore. She was twenty-two, lean of frame and a couple inches taller than her mother, qualities she’d inherited from her late father. Where her mother was an indigenous Alolan, Selene’s lithe build, long face, and straight nose betrayed her Kantoan blood on her father’s side. But he had died when she was only four, and her mother had moved back to Alola to raise her daughter alone. There was nothing left for them in Fuchsia City with him gone. Selene felt no real ties to Kanto or the Fuchsia City Velenos, her father’s kin. Like the Corsola that returned here for their children’s sake, her life was here in Alola with her mother, and it was all she had ever known.

She pulled on her khaki shorts, worn and frayed at the ends, and a sun-bleached T-shirt that had warmed under the sun. She wrung out her shoulder-length brown hair and left it alone; it would dry in no time under the hot sun. With all her things gathered, she had a mind to start for home to make it in time for lunch, but there was still one thing missing.

Selene pulled out one of her Pokéballs from the mesh bag she carried and released Vileplume. She was a squat Pokémon with a disproportionately large flower on her head, such a dark and glossy shade of violet that it was nearly black with bright red spots that warned of danger. Unlike other Vileplume native to Alola, whose flower crowns tended toward brighter yellow, orange, and red coloring when left to their own devices in the wild, Selene had captured and raised this one from an Oddish here on Melemele Island. A variety of factors, like climate, geographic location, diet, and prolonged exposure to a Tamer could all change the color and composition of Vileplume’s flower. This Vileplume’s poison was more potent than others’, a consequence of her life spent in close quarters with a Veleno. In colder places, like Sinnoh, Vileplume were said to bloom beautiful wintry blue and even white, but Selene had never seen them for herself.

“Okay, Vileplume,” Selene said. “Let’s clean up.”

Having done this many times in the past, Vileplume was ready and needed no further instruction. She released several vines from beneath her flower crown and began plucking discarded chunks of pink and orange and purple coral left scattered on the beach. She waddled along, her flat feet leaving tiny footprints in the damp sand, and Selene followed closely, accepting each chunk of coral to examine, determine its quality and viability, and stow it in her mesh bag if it passed muster. The rest, she chucked back into the sea. Qwilfish swam along in the water, scrambling to avoid the flying coral chunks and frothing as he went.

The coral chunks made a path that Selene and Vileplume followed east along the deserted shoreline.

 _You’d think she hadn’t eaten anything all year,_ Selene thought to herself, smiling.

Soon enough, she came upon the cause of the carnage caught in the act. A Toxapex, as wide around as a dinner table and just as tall, had gotten ahold of a small Corsola, one of the many that washed ashore with the tide and attempted to waddle back into the water. Selene cringed at the sound of the pink Corsola’s high-pitched screams as Toxapex crunched and cracked its hard coral shell and bones to get at the tender meat inside.

Toxapex was widely regarded as a menace. An abhorrent Pokémon to hear most people tell it, Toxapex and its pre-evolution, Mareanie, spent their days crawling over the ocean floors in search of prey, from Staryu to Corphish and anything else that had the bad luck of being in their path. But Toxapex’s favorite meal was Corsola, and the summer months when the Corsola hatchlings emerged from their egg cocoons were a series of daily feasts for the gluttonous Brutal Star Pokémon.

Selene’s Toxapex had twelve tapering tentacle arms, pale blue to blend in with the ocean floor from above. But her thorns were bright orange and portentous violet, and they secreted a fast-acting poison able to immobilize prey in seconds, as she had immobilized Corsola just now. Toxapex then began consuming her entrapped meals while they were still alive, a slow and torturous death.

But like most Poison-type Pokémon, Toxapex was somewhat maligned. Without their kind, Corsola and other hyper-fertile Swimmers would overrun the seas, consume all the food, and drive out others who depended on the balanced ecosystem. And Toxapex’s methods, while vile, were the safest and most non-intrusive way to harvest Corsola horns. Selene’s mesh bag was packed to the gills with the morning’s treasures, and she was quite pleased.

“Toxapex,” Selene called to her Pokémon as she jogged to catch up to her.

Toxapex lifted two of her thick tentacles and revealed her true body hidden within, little more than a pair of grinning yellow eyes and a mouth full of whirling teeth and Corsola bits. If she’d wanted, Selene could have crawled in beneath Toxapex’s umbrella of spiky tentacles. As a child, she’d often done just that and even fallen asleep. There were few places safer in the world than within a Toxapex’s armored body, so long as you weren’t dinner. Even Sharpedo had trouble penetrating their tough poisoned hides. Selene smiled and ran her blighted hand down one of Toxapex’s long tentacles.

“Did you get your fill yet? Want to go for a swim?”

Toxapex made a bone-chilling grinding sound that indicated her pleasure at the attention she was getting. Corsola’s remains lay bloody on the sand under Toxapex’s serrated mouth.

“Okay, I just have to drop these back home for Mom.”

She hoisted the bulging mesh bag higher on her shoulder and looked around for Vileplume, but the Flower Pokémon had wandered off a little farther down the beach.

“Vileplume? What’re you doing down there?”

Curious, Selene followed Vileplume down closer to the sea where the waves washed the sand. The odd Flower Pokémon was hunched over something, her vines moving about her like wriggling snakes. She had found something, and Selene kneeled down beside her to see.

“Oh, shit,” Selene gasped at the sight of the young woman passed out on the sand.

She was a mess and pale as a corpse, and for a terrifying second, Selene was sure she might actually be dead. Panicking, she leaned over and pressed her ear to the woman’s chest. There was a heartbeat, but it was faint. She was freezing to the touch, as if she’d been out at sea all night. There had a been no storm warnings that Selene knew of.

_Weird..._

She took a quick look up and down the beach. There were no signs of a shipwreck. If she had been shipwrecked last night, at least some jetsam would have washed up along with her. As it was, there was only her and a bag twisted around her shoulder that had miraculously not slipped free. Selene reached for her but stopped short.

“Fuck,” she said. _I don’t have my gloves._

Touching this woman barehanded was out of the question when a single scratch from her blighted hand could finish the job and kill her for good. There was no antidote to a Veleno’s venom, not even the blood of her blanched healing hand. It was the curse of the Veleno, to be able to cure any poison except for their own. Instead, Selene reached for her last Pokéball and released Dartrix. He was a lazy owl who preferred sleep to almost everything else, even food. About three feet tall, he swayed on his feet in the sand, drowsy as per his usual.

“Dartrix, wake up, you lazy bum! You have to get Professor Kukui out here right away,” Selene commanded.

Dartrix, startled, jumped and opened his dark eyes wide. A feathered cowlick hung over his right eye, constantly in the way, and he brushed it fruitlessly away with a brown wing.

“You got that? Professor Kukui, and make it quick. _No_ stopping for breaks, I mean it.”

Dartrix hooted nervously and took to the skies in a frazzled flurry of green and brown, flying back east.

Selene leaned over the woman. She was tall and willowy, and she wore a rumpled white dress and matching boots, designer and very expensive. At least, they used to be before the sea water ruined them. She was covered in kelp and reeds that the waves had washed ashore, and Selene carefully brushed them away with her healing hand. The woman’s platinum blonde hair was nearly white and blinding, a tangled rat’s nest and full of sand. But despite her haggard state, she had a pretty face—no, gorgeous. Selene couldn’t help but stare in awe for a moment.

_She’s gotta be like a super model or something._

And she looked young, too. Maybe younger than Selene. What was she doing out here alone and half dead? Who was she?

“Vileplume, help me get her up. Use Vine Whip.”

Vileplume made a clucking sound and obeyed, wrapping her vines about the woman’s torso and legs to gently hoist her up. Selene was very careful to keep her poisonous right hand as far away as possible from the unconscious woman as she did her best to awkwardly shoulder her weight and stand up. Toxapex crawled closer, curious, and from the water Qwilfish was watching everything.

“I've got you,” Selene said. “You’re going to be all right, it’s not too far to go.”

It was a quite a bit far to go, unfortunately. The house she shared with her mother on the outskirts of Hau'oli City was beachfront but a good two miles west. Kukui’s beach shack was closer, and she just hoped Dartrix wouldn’t get lost on the way. He could be spacy when he’d just woken up, which was basically all the time.

“Whoa, crap!” Selene nearly tripped when the woman’s bag swayed against them suddenly and sent them both falling headlong into Toxapex. Selene jerked around so that she landed on Toxapex and caught the woman in her arms to spare her Toxapex’s paralytic poison.

Toxapex gently lifted Selene and the woman up with her powerful tentacles until they were upright once more. By now, Selene was sweating.

“What the hell was that?” 

She got her answer quick enough when the woman’s bag jerked again and burst open, spilling sea water everywhere. A Pokémon leaped from the bag and began orbiting around Selene and the woman like a busy Combee, and when she got too close Selene swatted at her.

“What the—hey!”

The strange Pokémon made a chiming sound and bumped the woman’s chest, but there was no response. Her horns smoked a deep royal violet, and her runny eyes were yellow and pupil-less, eerie. Selene got a slight chill when the odd Pokémon came too close.

“What...are you?”

She had never seen a Pokémon like this before. The creature followed her, tinkling like a worried wind chime. Toxapex eyed the creature like she still had room for one last meal after the morning’s buffet, but Selene shooed her off.

“Toxapex, return.” The going would be faster without having to wait for her to keep up. “Qwilfish, hey! Go get Mom, okay? I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

Qwilfish splashed excitedly and dove beneath the waves to do her bidding. Only Vileplume remained, and she blinked her beady eyes up at Selene in question.

“Don’t look at me,” Selene said. “I don’t know what the hell I’m even doing...”

The strange Pokémon seemed to find a bit of courage and orbited around Selene, examining her.

“Cut that out, you. I’m trying to help her, okay? The sooner you get out of my face, the sooner she’ll be better.”

The creature seemed to accept this, because she stopped her fussing and simply hovered after the pair as Selene half limped half dragged the unconscious woman over the beach.

 _If she’s rich, I better get a reward for this,_ she thought bitterly, cursing her inability to use her dominant right hand. Vileplume’s vines helped a little, but not enough, and soon Selene was panting as she struggled to keep the woman aloft and moving. _A big fucking reward._

After what seemed like hours, Selene heard a telltale howl that nearly made her collapse in relief. An enormous wolf came bounding over the beach carrying a very fit, very shirtless man on his back.

“Aloooooolaaaaaa!!!” the man shouted.

If Selene weren’t exhausted from supporting both the woman and her net full of coral and shells, she would have rolled her eyes. The Midday Lycanroc, a beige and wintry white behemoth of a wolf with paws as wide as a man's face, skidded to a stop in the sand, and his rider dismounted gracefully like he was being judged on his performance.

_Always posturing. Doesn’t he have better things to do?_

But Selene was too relieved to see him to be too irritated at his antics. “Professor Kukui, help me out here.”

“Ooh boy, she looks a bit out of sorts,” he said unhelpfully.

“She’s unconscious, obviously. Just hurry up and take her before I murder her by accident.”

He obliged and lifted the woman in his arms effortlessly. His yellow tinted sunglasses flashed in the sunlight, and his ultra-white teeth flashed even brighter. He would have made an excellent model for toothpaste ads in another life. Or quite possibly in this life. Kukui nursed some odd hobbies in his free time, you never knew. “Ticket for two aboard the Lycanroc Express! Ho!” He hefted the woman onto Lycanroc’s back and offered a boost up to Selene after her. Selene recalled Vileplume and climbed aboard Lycanroc.

“Arms and legs behind the mane at all times, ladies,” Kukui said, tossing out another Pokéball. An eight-foot-tall Toucannon materialized next to him, his beak a brilliant explosion of color that matched his flamboyant personality. He squawked happily and flapped, shedding black feathers everywhere as if to say, ‘What a time to be alive!’

This time Selene did roll her eyes. “Can we just _go_ now? She’s half dead already!”

“As the grouchy lady commands! Next stop: Casa de Kukui, here we come! Ho!” He literally leaped onto Toucannon’s back, and soon they were up and away and homeward-bound.

Lycanroc howled and took off running after Kukui, and Selene nearly got thrown off. Too late she realized they’d left the weird Pokémon behind, and she cursed and looked back. To her utter amazement, the thing was Teleporting in succession to maintain pace with the speedy Lycanroc.

_A Psychic?_

Selene got another chill at the thought. Not many plebs had the fortitude to train Psychics. Could this woman be Clairvoyant? Despite herself, Selene felt a spike of trepidation at the thought. Clairvoyants and Velenos were mortal enemies, not that she’d ever met one, but still. She didn’t have much time to be properly afraid, though, because soon enough Lycanroc skidded to a halt in front of Kukui’s beach shack.

The place was dilapidated with more patchwork fixes on its walls and roof than the original wooden building. More of a surfer’s paradise than a home, it nonetheless had hidden a state-of-the-art laboratory in the basement where the renowned professor known as Nikolao “Niko” Kukui worked his day job as the world’s premier expert on Tamers. He had devoted his life to studying people like Selene and their connection to Pokémon. A Rock Adamantine himself, Kukui was intensely interested in the relationship between Tamers and Pokémon and trained a diverse team of Pokémon in order to experience the different nuances first-hand. Lycanroc was his only Rock-type as well as his oldest Pokémon.

Selene got off Lycanroc as fast as humanly possible and started to try to get the unconscious woman down when Kukui rushed in and did it himself.

“No time to waste, Selene. Help Lani inside, and we’ll get this young lady the help she needs. Quickly now! Chop chop!”

Selene wanted to grumble at his short memory, but now was not the time to argue. She went inside and held the door for him. Her mother, Lani, was already inside and preparing a bed for the unconscious woman.

“Over here, just set her down gently,” Lani said. Lani was a short voluptuous woman with a kind round face, big brown eyes enhanced by a bit of gold that really shined when she smiled, and lusciously waist-long hair that curled just right like only a true Alolan’s could despite the asphyxiating humidity. She favored flowing flower-printed dresses and sandals, and she was never ever seen without her frosting: a daily changing combination of bangles and bracelets, necklaces and earrings, rings and toe rings and arm rings. A jeweler by trade, she used the treasures Selene found on the beach and in the ocean to craft her unique wares for the fashionable men and women of Hau'oli City. Beneath her frosting, she wore bright white gloves to hide her blackened Veleno fingers.

“Mom,” Selene said.

Lani handed her a pair of black gloves that reached up to the elbow. “We’ll need to get her into some clean dry clothes before she catches cold. I brought some of your things, just there.”

Selene helped her mother strip the woman and change her into Selene’s old Iki Town High School Hip-Popplio Dance Club T-shirt and shorts, after which they piled blankets on top of her. Kukui, who had mercifully donned a short sleeved tropical shirt left defiantly open at the front to show his completely intimidating eight-pack, returned from downstairs with a small IV drip set and got to work setting up the woman with a feed to replenish her liquids. The odd Pokémon suddenly Teleported inside right in front of Selene.

“Son of a bitch!” she swore, stumbling back and dropping the hot pad she’d been carrying.

“Selene, _language_ please,” Lani chastised, but she was staring at the odd Pokémon. “Who’s this?”

“Her creep-ass Psychic cotton candy pet."

Lani gave her a reproving look.

The odd Pokémon worried over the unconscious woman, tinkling and chiming and smoking all over the place.

“All we can do now is wait,” Kukui said gravely, his previous carefree mirth all but gone as he checked the woman’s vitals on a handheld X-Transceiver like he’d done this a thousand times before. Selene knew he had. “I’d like to get her to Hau'oli, but in her condition I’m afraid it’d be too dangerous for her just yet. Darn it all.”

“Selene can stay with her for now,” Lani said. “I know you have work to do, Professor.”

“Wait, what?” Selene said.

“Lucky! Thanks, cos. I do have some business to take care of in Hau'oli City, actually. I’ll be back before you know it!”

“Now wait just a minute, Professor—”

But Kukui was out the door faster than you could say ‘forever young,’ and Selene was left to deal with whatever the hell was going on here. What was even going on here?

_Right, undead Barbie._

Her, and her Pokémon that looked like a star farted it out and that she’d kept in a _bag_ , of all the things. Like fucking toiletries or dirty underwear. _What did I get myself into?_ Selene did not want to know, honestly.

“A prism scale! It’s beautiful,” Lani gushed as they sifted through the day’s treasure trove. “I’ll be able to make that pendant I’ve been thinking of now. This will sell fast, I’m sure of it. And all the Corsola coral! Toxapex must be too full to move.”

“She’s fine, trust me. She could eat a Mudsdale if she could catch one. It’s Dartrix I’m worried about. I sent him ahead to alert Professor Kukui, but...”

“Oh, he’s been napping in the loft, just there. See?”

Selene followed her mother’s gaze to Kukui’s loft, where sure enough, Dartrix was snoozing perched on the arm of a chair. She got up and banged on the wall.

“Dartrix! You lazy bum, how can you sleep at a time like this?!”

Dartrix jumped and shed a pound of feathers in his distress, lone visible eye wide as he zeroed in on his mistress. He hooted pitiably and swiveled his head around 180 degrees to hide.

“Oh my god. I can still see you, you know!”

He was hopeless. She’d raised him up from a tiny Rowlet, a birthday gift from Kukui when she and her mother had moved back from Kanto and settled here many years ago. As a Rowlet, he’d been spunky and fearless, but when he evolved all he wanted to do was sleep and laze about. He shied from physical exertion whenever possible unless it was an emergency, like today, and was content to spend his days and nights in some tree dreaming away. Selene was not sure what she was going to do with him, but he had a special place in her heart. He was the only one of her Pokémon who wasn’t of the Poison typing and still he could tolerate to be near her, even rejoiced at the opportunity. When she slept, he would often sleep perched on her headboard, like he was watching over her as she dreamed. Sighing, Selene climbed the step ladder to the loft and petted Dartrix’s velvety feathers with her gloved hands. He was so soft, always careful to keep his coat clean, though she had no idea where he found the time when he was asleep twenty hours out of the day.

“You’re the laziest bird I’ve ever met. And probably the fluffiest.”

Forgetting her earlier admonishment, Dartrix swiveled his head around and hooted pleasantly, fluffing his feathers at her touch. He cocked his head cutely, an old habit, and she smiled.

“Thanks for getting Professor Kukui there so fast. You did good.”

“Selene, I’ve got to get these washed and sorted, and Meowth will be wanting her lunch soon,” Lani said, shouldering the mesh bag full of treasures. “Are you going to be all right here on your own?”

Selene eyed the unconscious woman. _Hell if I know._ “Yeah, fine. I’ll raid the professor’s fridge or something.”

Lani gave her a reproving look. “Send Dartrix if she wakes up. Poor girl, she’s been through something terrible. I can tell just by looking at her.”

Selene said nothing to that, and Lani sighed.

“Well, I better be off then.”

“Bye, Mom.”

Selene was soon alone in Kukui’s house with the unconscious woman and her weird Pokémon. The creature was busy exploring the house, examining everything and poking her cloudy nose into anything of interest, which was basically everything in the house, including Dartrix. He barely stirred when the odd Pokémon came to investigate him, though, too sleepy to be bothered. Selene watched.

“What are you, anyway?” she wondered aloud as she sat on the couch sipping an iced tea.

_I wonder if Professor Kukui would know? He didn’t say anything..._

For now, though, it looked like the only way she would find out would be to ask the woman when she woke up. If she woke up. Selene got up and went to check on her. Lani had washed her face and brushed out her pale gold hair, and she was sleeping soundly under a mountain of blankets. Her cheeks were regaining a bit of color, and she looked halfway human again, but still dead to the world. Selene wondered how long she would remain like this.

It was late in the afternoon now, and Selene was bored just sitting here doing nothing. She had been staring at Kukui’s two-story Luvdisc tank, half watching the pretty pink fish bob up and down and half staring soullessly into space, when a very loud knock on the door made her jump. Not a knock so much as a crash. In the loft, Dartrix and the odd Pokémon were startled, too, and Dartrix fell off his perch with an anguished hoot. The odd Pokémon Teleported in surprise all over the room. The door burst open before Selene could do anything about any of it, and a towering Pokémon barreled on through like he owned the place.

“Whoa, Passimian! Slow down!”

Passimian, a six-foot-tall lemur with a budding career in the Alola national basketball team, had half a coconut on his head like a helmet, and he was dribbling a silver spiked ball. He squawked, his striped tail like a lash that thumped loudly on the wooden floor, and turned on his pursuer.

“Hau,” Selene said. “Did you just break the door down?”

Hau pulled her into a quick hug before she could stop him. “Howzit, Selene! We were just playin’, ya know? Hey, you don’t think Kukui’ll be mad, yeah?”

Selene crossed her arms and looked at him pointedly.

“Ah, haha, yeah, you’re prolly right...”

Passimian dropped the ball he’d been holding, and it unfurled into a fat spiny Togedemaru. He waddled about the room to the rug by the coffee table, where he plopped down and began to clean himself.

“What’re you even doing here?” Selene asked.

“Whaddaya mean? I came to see the girl! Is she dead?”

Selene rolled her eyes. “No, you idiot. She’s unconscious. I’m surprised she didn’t wake up when you nearly blew the house down.”

Hau laughed. “It’s called making an entrance!” He went to the unconscious woman’s bedside and whistled appreciatively. “Auntie didn’t say anything about her bein’ a haole! Whoa, she's like, _really_ pretty...”

“Yeah, well, hands to yourself, perv.”

He grinned. “Who, me?”

Hau was a couple years Selene’s junior, but she’d known him practically their whole lives. He was as local as they came with a fresh face, round cheeks, and always laughing about something. He was grandson to Melemele Island’s own Kahuna Hala, a famous wrestling champion and Bellator tasked with the island’s protection.

Everything about Hala was big, from his fearsome Crabominable to his scarred belly that could protect him even from a Hariyama’s charge in the ring. The only thing big about Hau was his appetite.

“I’m starving! What’s Prof got in the fridge?” Hau was already jogging to the fridge before Selene could respond, his topknot bobbing precariously like it might pop right off. Passimian was not far behind, his appetite as ravenous as Hau’s.

Selene rolled her eyes. “So that’s why you’re really here. Don’t lie.”

Hau grinned. “I stopped at your place, and Auntie said you were here. Plus, I sorta skipped lunch...”

“You mean it’s been a couple hours since you had lunch and my mom wouldn’t feed you, so you came here.”

“Bang bang, right? Think he’s got any malasada in here?” Hau didn’t wait and began rummaging through the fridge.

There was no stopping him when he set his mind to food. It was better to join him. And so, they set out a tasty spread on the kitchen table, enough to feed a small family, and attacked it happily. Passimian stuffed whole green Hondew berries into his mouth and glared when Selene tried to nab one for herself.

“Ahh, that hits the spot!” Hau said as he washed down some food with a glass of iced Roserade tea.

Their meal drew the odd Pokémon’s attention, and she drifted down to the table to observe them. Passimian growled when she got close enough to inspect the Hondew berries, but she was more interested in Hau’s plate.

“Huh? Who’s this?” he asked between bites.

“My stalker,” Selene said. “She was in the woman’s bag and now she’s following me.”

“Hey, you’re pretty cute.”

“She’s not cute. She looks like a star farted her out.”

“You hungry, little one? Here, try this!” Hau fed her a bit of leftover malasada, and it disappeared within the odd Pokémon’s smoky body.

“Haha, you like malasada? Whoa!”

Before Hau could do anything about it, the odd Pokémon went after the rest in his hand, sucking the entire thing up like a little vacuum. Hau barely got his hand away, covered in crumbs.

“Aw man! She ate the whole thing!” he whined.

Selene snorted.

Hau soon got over the loss, and they resumed their meal. “Still,” he said after a while, “we don’t get many haoles this far out. They mostly visit Akala and stuff, you know?”

“Yeah,” Selene said, ruminating on that thought. “She looked like she’d been shipwrecked or something, but I dunno...”

“No storms lately,” Hau said. “Maybe just bad luck?”

Selene frowned, not quite convinced. “The worst luck.”

Hau didn’t share her suspicions, however, and sucked down the rest of his iced Roserade tea. It was to his loud sucking sounds that the woman finally woke, startling them both half to death.

“Who...” she said in a small voice. “Where am I?”

Hau spit out a piece of ice that hit Selene in the forehead, and she forgot her surprise momentarily as irritation got the better of her.

“Hau, what the hell!”

Hau was too busy staring at the woman, who was slowly regaining consciousness and absorbing her surroundings. He pointed at her like she was some alien being come to pass judgment on him, speechless. Selene grumbled and rubbed her forehead, a little cold and a little sore, and got up.

“You’re finally awake,” she said, going to the woman’s bedside.

“Who—” The woman began to cough violently.

“Hau, get her a glass of water,” Selene ordered.

Hau was still staring.

“Like, _now._ ” 

Hau leaped out of his chair. “Y-Yeah! You got it!”

Selene awkwardly stood over the woman as she coughed, not sure how else to help. Hau soon arrived with a glass of water, half of which he’d spilled all over himself and the floor rushing over. The woman accepted the glass and drank greedily, her fit abating.

“Oh,” she gasped. “That burns.”

“We found you on the beach,” Hau blurted out. “I mean, uh, Selene found you. Washed up. On the beach. She did.” He pointed to Selene.

“Oh,” the woman said again, swallowing hard and trying to regain her voice. “Um...”

The odd Pokémon appeared out of nowhere all of a sudden and rushed the woman, tackling her in the chest.

“Whoa!” Hau exclaimed.

The woman was less surprised and hugged the odd Pokémon to her chest. “Nebby! Oh my goodness, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Nebby?” Selene said.

The woman seemed to remember that they were there all of a sudden and tried to hide Nebby, as if it would help at all. “Who are you? Where am I? What do you want with Nebby?”

“I’m Hau,” Hau said before Selene could respond, smiling like he had not a care in the world. “Howzit! This is Selene. Didn’t I already say that? Haha—Ow!”

Selene stepped on his foot hard enough to hurt. “I’ll be asking the questions. I saved your life. You’re welcome, by the way. So how about you tell me who _you_ are and how you ended up shipwrecked on Melemele Island with no ship?”

The woman looked between the two of them. She had lovely green eyes, a deep mossy color, watery and shifty in her nervousness.

“Melemele Island?” she said. “No, that’s...”

The woman shrank in on herself and hugged Nebby closer, but Nebby Teleported out of her grasp all of a sudden and reappeared next to Selene’s head. The woman gasped, and Selene swatted the annoying Pokémon away to little avail.

“Nebby, are you...” the woman said.

“Nebby?” Hau said.

The woman looked between them and seemed to make up her mind about something. “I’m Lillie."

“Well, that’s _one_ of my questions answered,” Selene said, glaring askance at Nebby, who was still hovering in her personal space.

Lillie averted her gaze, abashed. “I’m sorry. I... I’ve been through a lot. You must think me rude after you helped me.”

“Actually, yeah—” Selene began.

“No way!” Hau interrupted. “You’re good. Lillie, right? Nice to meetcha!” He held out his hand for her to shake. “Hey, you hungry? There’s plenty of food.”

“Oh, um, I guess I am, actually,” Lillie said. “Thank you.”

Nebby chimed happily when Hau helped Lillie off her cot. Selene’s clothes were loose and fit a bit awkwardly on her taller frame, but they did their job well enough. Lillie hugged her middle self-consciously where her T-shirt bared an inch of midriff.

Selene bit her cheek, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “Your clothes were wet and dirty. My mom changed you, don’t worry.” She paused before adding, “I’m sure the wash’ll be done soon and you can get your old clothes back.”

Lillie blushed prettily. “Oh, that’s... I mean, thank you...Selene. I really owe you, for myself and for Nebby, too.”

“What’s a Nebby, anyway?” Hau asked.

“Nebby? Oh, right, I’m sorry. Nebby’s just a nickname for her. This is Cosmog. She’s...well, she’s my, um, my Pokémon.”

“Oh, I get it. So, you like nicknames? Nebby’s pretty cute.”

 _I prefer Star Fart_ , Selene thought, watching Nebby the Cosmog skeptically.

“Nebby, um, Cosmog is a rare Pokémon,” Lillie said. “So if you haven’t heard of it, um, that’s normal.”

There was something off about Lillie. Perhaps she was naturally diffident and passive, but it was more than that. She moved and spoke like a woman afraid of something, shaken by something. Whatever had brought her here haunted her. As though reading Selene’s thoughts, Lillie glanced over her shoulder, but there was nothing there.

 _She’s terrified,_ Selene thought, feeling a little bad about her suspicions and wondering what kind of ordeal Lillie had gone through before landing here. _But still..._

Hau was looking between the two women, strangely quiet the way he would sometimes get when he thought no one was looking. He put a hand on Lillie’s shoulder and smiled brightly.

“You know, Lillie,” he said. “This is Kukui’s place. You’d never guess it from lookin’ at him, but he’s a big shot Pokémon Professor. He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, seriously! He even got Selene and her mom their house outside of Hau'oli back when they had nowhere else to go... Ah hah, well, in any case, what I mean is, he’s always happy to meet people and help ‘em out however he can. ‘Specially the ones who might not have anybody else to help ‘em out, you know? So, you’re in good hands here. I promise, yeah?”

Selene had a mind to snap at him for opening his big mouth about her personal business in front of a stranger, but the way Lillie visibly relaxed made her hold her tongue.

“Thank you,” Lillie said, hugging herself harder. “I’m... I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.”

Hau laughed. “Don’t worry! So, I think we got some ice cream here... You prefer chocolate or vanilla?”

Lillie smiled shyly. “Oh, well... I’ve never tried chocolate, so...”

“What?! Never had chocolate ice cream? Then, you gotta have it!”

Selene said nothing, and Hau helped Lillie settle into a chair at the table while he retrieved the ice cream. He had Lillie laughing about some inane joke or other soon enough, and Selene found her seat in silence as she let him slowly ease Lillie’s fears and lull her into some sense of comfort. Hau had always had a way with people that Selene never had. Her eyes followed Nebby floating about like a thundercloud. Kukui would be back soon, inevitably, and perhaps then they could get some real answers, though Selene wasn’t quite sure where to begin asking questions.

“Let the fun begin!” Hau exclaimed as he poured chocolate syrup on his already very chocolate sundae.

Lillie laughed as Nebby stole a bite of her ice cream. She felt Selene’s gaze and smiled shyly back.

* * *

 

It was a beautiful day in Heahea City. The June sun was bright and hot, the beaches were filled with sunbathers and volleyball players, and vibrant Oricorio sang to each other in the Lush Jungle trees that surrounded the city. Children built sand castles by the water, vendors hawked their wares as they wheeled their carts down the busy streets, and at least seven different wedding parties were having their pictures taken on the beach or in the luxurious hotel gardens. It was the height of the tourism season in Heahea City, Akala Island’s capital and premiere resort getaway for visitors from Kanto to Kalos, and every serviceperson in the industry was hard at work checking in hotel guests, taking lunch orders, or welcoming new arrivals to the most relaxing vacation they would ever take.

One such hardworking young man, Peni, was a bellhop at the Hano Grand Resort—Heahea City’s largest and most famous beachfront resort hotel. He was doing a commendable job of greeting guests, arranging for luggage transportation, and directing visitors around Hano’s huge marble-floor lobby. It was his first day on the job, a summer position before his senior year of high school in which he hoped to earn enough money to save up for a vacation of his own after graduation, preferably somewhere cold and far away for a change of scenery, a final hurrah before adulthood and all the responsibility that came with it caught up to him.

He greeted models, actors, and high-powered businesspeople as they came and went, each seemingly more beautiful or wealthy or important than the last. There was even a famous Pikachu that was the star of a series of Poffin commercials here to shoot on location. When Peni smiled and tried to pet him, he only got a stubborn static shock for his trouble.

“My goodness! I am so sorry,” said one of the suited men accompanying the aloof Pikachu’s entourage. “Master Chuuster doesn’t do well with strangers, you understand. He’s under such tremendous pressure as a famous star.”

“Uh, right...” Peni said, shaking out his hand. “You can check in over at that counter there. Welcome to Alola.”

Toward the end of his shift in the afternoon, he was suddenly knocked over in the midst of loading an old man’s suitcase onto a waiting Skiddo-drawn taxi. The suitcase landed just fine in the carriage, but Peni himself lost his footing and landed ungracefully on his rear on the marble walkway. His high-strung manager, Lui, saw him fall and gaped in horror.

“Peni! What are you doing on the floor?! Get up this instant!”

But Peni was frozen on the floor where he’d landed as he got a good look at what had tripped him up, and he could hardly believe his eyes. It was a Pokémon, one he did not recognize, and it was _floating_.

“Now _this_ is a hotel! Ahhh, I already feel relaxed,” said the woman who had appeared out of thin air with that Pokémon. Peni’s first thought after the initial shock was that she was stupidly pretty, her long brown hair wavy and loose down to her waist and framing her face. She spotted Peni on the floor, pushed her large sunglasses up on her head, and grinned down at him with a pair of sparkling blue eyes. “Hey, you’re cute! Do you work here?”

Peni opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a strangled gasping sound. The hovering Pokémon, an emaciated bearded _thing_ , was looking down at him over her shoulder like it was plotting his slow death by flaying.

“Ivy, you’re scaring the poor kid,” said the man she was with. He was also dressed casually for the weather in boarder shorts and sandals and sunglasses, and he offered Peni a hand up. “Don’t mind her. She makes a horrible first impression. I apologize if Mega Alakazam’s entrance knocked you down. We’re still getting the hang of long-distance Teleportation.”

Peni accepted the man’s offered hand and let him help him up. Lui was upon them by then looking flushed and flustered as a maiden on her wedding day.

“Alola! Welcome to the Hano Grand Resort. I am deeply sorry for any inconvenience Peni here may have caused. It’s his first day on the job,” Lui said, wringing his hands.

“What the hell do you mean, I make a horrible first impression?” Ivy said, her hands on her hips.

The man shot her a withering look. “You do. I remember it all too well.” To Lui he said, “It’s no inconvenience at all. It was my fault. I should’ve Teleported us farther out.”

“M-Mega Alakazam?” Peni said, still winded but now a little curious about the odd Pokémon as tall as a man floating just behind the guests. He had seen pictures of Alakazam before, but this didn’t quite look like the pictures. Abra were sometimes spotted napping in the oddest of places, from public laundromats to the tops of broad palm trees to poolside benches. But Alakazam were rarely seen in the flesh, let alone under the care of a human trainer.

The man removed his sunglasses and revealed a pair of somber green eyes. “Right, about that,” he said, touching a bandaged hand to Mega Alakazam’s shoulder.

Before Peni’s eyes, the Pokémon shrank as though by magic. His beard receded, his limbs regressed, and he touched down on the floor on three-toed feet. Other guests and staff had stopped to gawk at the sight. Plenty of Pokémon trainers stayed at the resort, but judging from the reactions, few brought along a Mega Pokémon, of all the things. Lui was staring openly, and the woman was grinning like something about all this was hilarious to her.

“So, we’re checking in,” the man said, hoisting his bag over his shoulder.

Lui remembered himself and smiled brightly. “A-Ah! Of course, of course. What’s the name?”

“Gary Oak. For two.”

“We should be in the Aquamarine Suite,” Ivy said. “I booked it for the rest of the month.”

Lui stood up straighter. “Th-The Aquamarine Suite, yes, we’ve been expecting you! Peni, the bags. It’s not often we receive an esteemed Gym Leader all the way from Kanto. Please, right this way sir, madam.”

Ivy grinned and looped her arm through Gary’s. “Let’s go, _sir_.”

“You booked a special suite? How much is this costing me, exactly?” Gary grumbled.

“It’s ocean-facing with a private garden that’s more than big enough for Tyranitar. Now quit complaining and start having _fun_. Speaking of which, Peni, where’s the bar?”

“There’s a mini bar in your suite,” Peni said in a small voice. _Tyranitar? Who are these people?!_ “A-And the rooftop bar is included for all special suite guests, so, um, you qualify for that.”

Ivy laughed. “This is going to be the _best_ vacation ever!”

“Yay,” Gary said unenthusiastically. “Think of all the work I’ll be slacking off on.”

“I know, I’m tingling just thinking about it,” Ivy said. “Let the fun begin!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a Hawaiian friend who gave me a little help with the local vernacular, but I’m not Hawaiian myself, so if there are any mistakes, I do sincerely apologize and will do my best to correct them going forward. But I think makes sense to try to incorporate it since Hau’s speech (and others’) in the games used it a little bit here and there.
> 
> Bit of an afterthought, but yeah, I prefer Selene over Moon as far as names go. Selene and Elio were the promotional names for the characters Moon and Sun, respectively. For anyone who hasn’t read Triumvirate, I’ve done the same for Green and Blue and changed them into English names, Ivy and Gary, respectively.
> 
> Final note on Mega Evolution. Anyone who’s read my other stuff is good to go, as it’s all the same here. If this is your first time reading my fics, basically Mega Evolution works like a blood bond instead of with Mega Stones, mostly because I thought it was marginally more realistic than magical stones found in random places that mysteriously haven’t already been mined up or claimed by people with a lot of resources and are simply waiting for adventuring trainers to come upon them by happenstance. Also, only Tamers can do Mega Evolution in the Tamerverse. Check out Wanderer if you want a story that focuses on it more in-depth. Thanks!


	3. Hot People Can't Be Criminals -or- World's Greatest MILF

Lillie was becoming visibly more at ease as time passed. She hardly ate much despite her weakened state, but Hau and Passimian were more than happy to pick up the slack. When Hau pulled out some leftover roasted Pidgey from the fridge, Lillie’s bag burst with light and revealed a squat Stufful, drawn out of his Pokéball by the smell of food. Hau forgot about his appetite for a moment to fawn over the little bear cub.

“You had a Stufful this whole time and didn’t say anything?!” he gushed.

Lillie looked just as surprised as Hau. “I-I didn’t know he was in my bag! Stufful, how? Could Wicke have...?”

 _Are you kidding me?_ Selene thought, too stunned to speak. _What else does she have in there? Drugs? A baby? Professor Kukui’s missing shirts?_

Stufful was happy to accept the drumstick Hau offered him, but when Hau tried to pet him, he earned a warning growl for his trouble.

“Oh, be careful, Hau! Stufful has a temper,” Lillie said, moving to scoop up the fluffy cub as he chewed through meat and bone happily. “Oh you, be nice, okay?”

Stufful seemed to like being picked up and ceased his growling, but he was still smelling the roasted fowl and hungry for more.

“‘S okay,” Hau said. “He’s just in a new place with strangers. He’ll warm up to me. Most Fighters eventually do!”

“Oh, um, are you? I mean, are you a Bellator?”

“Me? Nah, I’m just a skuff. But my tutu’s a Bellator! He’s the Melemele Island Kahuna, actually. Maybe you heard of him? Kahuna Hala?”

“K-Kahuna Hala is your grandfather?”

Hau grinned toothily. “What, you can’t tell by lookin’ at this handsome mug?”

Togedemaru squeaked happily as if in agreement, and Hau spun him around by the tail like a top in a game. Selene rolled her eyes.

“So, moving on,” she said. “Who’s Wicke?”

“Hm?” Lillie said.

“Wicke. You mentioned that name before.”

“I did? Oh...” She bit her lip and looked around for Nebby, who was hovering annoyingly close to Selene’s head. “I guess I do owe you some explanation, after all.”

Selene was about to respond to that when the door burst open rather suddenly, coming off the hinges once more to make way for the man of the house himself.

“I have returned!” Kukui announced redundantly. Somewhere in his absence, he had lost his shirt and was once more bared to the world from the waist up.

“Howzit, Prof!” Hau said.

“Hau! What's good, cos?” He high-fived Hau and matched his grin.

“It’s about damn time you got back,” Selene said. “It’s already past dark, and you’re out of food.”

Kukui put up his hands apologetically. “Yeah, sorry about that. Time got a little carried away from me.”

“Looks like it carried your shirt away, too. You know those don’t grow on trees.”

“Hm?” He touched his chest and stomach. “I guess it did! I didn’t even notice on such a smokin’ hot summer day!”

Selene felt a headache coming on all of a sudden.

“Hello, um, Professor Kukui?” Lillie’s shy greeting came out sounding like a question. "I'm Lillie."

“Alola, Lillie! Looks like you’re awake and feeling better, eh?”

“Yes, thank you. I mean, thank you for letting me stay here. I... I’m so grateful for your help.”

Kukui lifted the door and set it against the hinges again. With a loud _snap_ it was back in place, at least until the next person would have to go through it. “Don’t mention it! We’re just lucky Selene found you when she did.”

“Yes,” Lillie said, smiling shyly at Selene. “It was lucky.”

“Oh, and this goes without saying, but of course you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like,” Kukui added cheerfully.

Lillie blushed. “Th-Thank you so much! But I couldn’t impose like that after everything you all have done for me already.”

“Nonsense! Casa de Kukui is open to one and all. Think of it as a home away from home.”

“Speaking of home,” Selene said. “Where’s yours, exactly?”

“Selene, give her a break,” Hau said. “She’s had a rough time of it.”

“She had a break all afternoon. You’re telling me you’re not the least bit weirded out by all this? C’mon, Hau, _seriously_.”

He scratched his head sheepishly and averted his gaze. Nebby took that time to appear, drawn by all the voices.

“Ah, and who do we have here?” Kukui said. “You’re a sparkly little guy.”

“This is Cosmog,” Lillie said, reaching for Nebby. “But I call her Nebby for short.”

“Nebby, huh? She must be pretty hardy to make it this far with you.”

“Oh, um, Nebby’s a lot stronger than she looks."

Selene was ready to start questioning Lillie again, but all of a sudden Kukui yawned loudly. “Well! How’s about we all let Lillie get some rest? I'm pretty beat myself, wouldn’t ya know it! Selene, Hau, why don’t you both run on home for now?”

“What? But Professor!” Selene protested.

He spared her a friendly grin. “Hey, you can always come back and hang out with Lillie tomorrow, yeah? I'm sure by then she’ll feel much better, isn’t that right, Lillie?”

“Huh? Oh, well... I suppose I am a bit tired,” she said.

Before she knew it, Selene was outside walking north toward Iki Town with Hau, Passimian, and Togedemaru while Lillie and Nebby stayed behind at Kukui’s for the night.

“I’m telling you, Hau,” she said. “Something about Lillie rubs me the wrong way. She’s hiding something.”

“I dunno, it's not like she’s some criminal or whatever,” Hau said nonchalantly. “I mean, look at her! She’s just lost and alone and needs somebody to be nice to her is all. What’s wrong with that?”

“Are you seriously trying to convince me that hot people can’t be criminals?”

He smirked. “Well, _I’m_ not a criminal, so it must be true.”

Despite herself, Selene could not help but laugh at that. She rolled her eyes and tried to play it off like nothing, but he noticed and grinned wider.

“Whaddaya know? She _does_ have a sense of humor."

“Oh, shove it.”

The stars were out, glittering and brilliant over the night seascape and bathing Route One’s leafy canopy in pale light. Kricketot and Kricketune sang to each other through the shadows, and out to sea schools of Tentacool and Tentacruel bobbed slowly on a midnight hunt, their ruby false eyes setting the sea afire. It was a hot night, as Kukui had said, but the ocean breeze filled Selene’s loose T-shirt and kept her cool as she hiked. With Passimian setting a brisk pace with his long loping legs, they arrived at Selene’s house in no time at all.

“Well, maybe tomorrow Lillie’ll feel better and she’ll tells us some more about herself, yeah?” Hau offered as they lingered in front of the house.

Selene shrugged. “We’ll see.”

“What that s’posed to mean? You don’t think she will?”

“I don’t really know what to think. She shows up shipwrecked with no ship, alone and with a weird Pokémon nobody’s ever heard of, and she doesn’t answer any basic questions about who she is or what she’s doing here.”

“I mean, I’m pretty sure she’s just tired and maybe a little scared.”

“Yeah, she’s scared. But why? What’s she so scared of? Or who?”

Hau shrugged. “Dunno. Hey... You don’t think somebody chased her here or something?”

Selene shook her head. “I don’t know what to think. But I’m gonna find out one way or another. Whatever trouble she’s involved in, there’s no way I’m letting her drag us or the professor into it.”

Hau looked at her with concern, but he nodded. It was better not to argue with Selene when she set her mind to something, he had learned long ago. “Well, I’ll see ya tomorrow, then. I better get back.”

“Yeah, okay. Night.”

“Night!”

Inside, Selene slipped out of her sandals and headed for the kitchen to greet her mother. She stopped when she heard voices.

“I’m sorry, Lani,” said Kahale, her mother’s jewelry shop manager in Hau'oli City. “She insisted.”

“But it’s perfectly safe,” Lani said. “I clean every piece thoroughly once I’m finished crafting. No trace of poison is left when I send them to the shop.”

“I know, I know,” Kahale said, contrite. “I explained it to her, but she’s insisting on a full refund.”

“I can’t even salvage this. The pearls are scratched beyond repair, like it was dropped down a garbage disposal. No one will buy this. It’s worthless now.”

“I know. She insisted she didn’t know anything about it...”

“How did this woman even find out about me? The point of having you man the shop was to keep my identity a secret to avoid these exact situations.”

“Hau'oli’s a small town when it comes to, ah, to these kinds of things. People talk, even to tourists...”

“But it’s not right,” Lani said sadly. “It’s just not right.”

“I'm so sorry, Lani. I wish I could undo all this, I really do.”

Selene had heard enough and emerged into the kitchen. “Mom, Kahale."

Kahale wore a suit, having just come from the shop in the city where such formal attire was required, and stood up straighter. He was an older man with more salt than pepper in his hair, a neatly trimmed beard and mustache, and eyes set too far apart in his face such that it was a constant struggle deciding which one to look into. He had always seemed a little nervous around Selene, but he was always polite to her and her mother. He’d been managing Lani’s jewelry shop since it opened, and he was loyal and discreet.

“Ah, Selene, how nice to see you,” he said with a wavering smile.

Selene noticed how his eyes fell to her bare blighted hand. She’d removed the gloves when she and Hau left Kukui’s place, knowing Hau never minded the sight of her discolored hands. Kahale discreetly averted his gaze and gave no reaction.

“What’s going on here?” Selene asked, noticing the ruined pearl necklace Lani was holding. It was severed in two places, and the pearls were scratched up so badly that they had lost all their sheen. “Unhappy customer?”

Lani slipped the trashed necklace in a pocket of her skirt. She was wearing her gloves even though they were at home, probably for Kahale’s benefit.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Lani said with a quick smile. “Just the nature of retail. You can’t please everyone.”

“Well, I should be going,” Kahale said. “I’m sorry to call at this hour. And, ah, if I could be so bold, might I suggest a swift and quiet resolution to this problem?”

Lani nodded numbly. “Yes, fine, whatever she wants. A full refund and an apology. I trust you can handle it discreetly.”

“Of course, I’ll take care of it personally. Please don’t waste another minute thinking on it.”

“Thank you, Kahale.”

He nodded and excused himself with a final goodnight to Selene. She went to lock the door behind him, and when she got back to the kitchen, Lani was staring at the ruined peals on the kitchen counter in silence, as if she couldn’t make sense of them.

“Mom,” Selene said.

“Fifteen months,” Lani said softly. “That’s how long we spent collecting these pearls. They had to be the right size and color. Clamperl don’t produce this pale indigo as often as the white and pink.”

Selene said nothing. She knew this already. She had been the one to collect most of them.

Lani sighed, tired. “It’s been a long time since a tourist found out about me. I only hope Kahale can persuade her to keep quiet about me. And right at the beginning of the season...”

Selene felt a surge of bitter anger, and she went to her mother. She laid her poisoned hand on Lani’s shoulder reassuringly. “Kahale will handle it. If nothing else, he’s damn good at his job. But this is bullshit and you know it.”

“Selene, there’s nothing I can do.”

“So, what? We’re just supposed to let people treat us like garbage?” She grabbed the pearls and dangled them in front of Lani. “That customer obviously trashed these, and she’s extorting us to get her money back.”

“We don’t know that. It could have been an accident.”

“Not the part about knowing you’re Veleno. Don’t tell me you don’t get the threat there. If she tells anyone and it spreads around town to the tourists, there goes our whole summer season down the drain.”

Lani removed her gloves and flexed her mismatched fingers. “I’m perfectly aware of all that, Selene. But tell me: how would making a scene out of this help at all? It would only make things worse. Unfortunately, in our situation, the customer is always right.”

“Bullshit,” Selene spat. “This is illegal, it has to be. Anybody else would tell a customer to go fuck themselves if they tried this.”

“We are _not_ anybody else!”

Lani rarely got angry, having fully embraced the island spirit of a carefree life, but when she did it was always for a good reason and never lasted long. Regretting her tone of voice, Lani’s expression melted and she took Selene’s face in her hands gently.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re trying to help,” she said. “But you have to understand that this is the way things are. To survive, we have to tolerate some unpleasantness. People fear and hate what they don’t understand.”

“Yeah, it’s called ignorance,” Selene said, pulling away angrily. “I’m so sick of it. We’ve lived here practically my whole life. I think we’ve proven we’re not crazy murderers out to get anybody. This wouldn’t have happened in Fuchsia, I bet.”

Lani looked at her with pity. “This happens everywhere, my darling. Wherever there are people, they will represent the best and the worst of themselves. It’s always been this way.”

“Then it’s a shitty way to be. We shouldn’t have to be ashamed of who we are. People should just learn to accept us and spend their time hating things that actually suck, like, I dunno, Seel clubbing or deforestation.”

“You’re right, but to learn, there must be someone to teach.” She took Selene’s hands in hers. “Maybe one person can’t change the entire world. But if you can change the heart of one person, you can change their entire world.”

“You sound like Professor Kukui.”

Lani smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

 _It wasn’t_ , Selene wanted to say, but she held her tongue. Lani was a generally positive person, possibly too positive sometimes, but that was probably why she was still in business despite the rough spots. If it were Selene, she would have done something regrettable a long time ago, probably.

“Anyway, enough about all this,” Lani said, placing the ruined pearls in a drawer to deal with later. “If you’re here, does that mean the poor girl woke up?”

Selene told her about Lillie and Nebby and everything that had transpired back at Kukui’s beach shack.

“Well, tomorrow is another day,” Lani said. “I’m sure Lillie will open up a little more after a good night’s rest.”

“I hope you’re right, Mom.”

Lani grinned. “When am I ever wrong?”

They bid their goodnights and Selene headed for bed, while Lani remained downstairs to finish up some bookkeeping work for the shop. Selene’s room was small but cozy, and after a quick shower, she opened up the window to the one-person deck that overlooked the water. Below, Qwilfish poked his head up from the waves, happy to see her. She called out to him, and he leaped from the water and flipped, landing with a loud splash.

The night wind was warm but not unpleasant at this hour, and a sliver of a crescent moon hung lazy in the sky like a toothy smile. Down toward the south sat Kukui’s beach shack, not visible from her vantage but nestled at the edge of Route One. To the west, Ten Carat Hill rose out of the small jungle and gave way to the rolling, rocky, southwestern coast of Melemele Island, uninhabited by people. On full moon nights, sometimes it was possible to hear the melancholy howls of Midnight Lycanroc, the more sinister and aggressive Forme of the species not often kept by trainers. Tonight, however, the wolves were quiet and only the crickets sang. Selene breathed deeply, the air rich with salt and overripe fruit and night.

 _Tomorrow is another day,_ she thought about her mother’s words of advice. _Tomorrow, I’ll get some answers from Lillie._

She yawned, sleepy, and got up to go to bed, but something in the darkness caught her eye. It was only for a moment, a ripple at the edges of her vision, and now that she was looking, she couldn’t see anything in the inky night sky.

_A light?_

The only light was that shining down from the stars and crescent moon. There was no wriggling worm of light, no frayed ripple in the darkness, just the same old sky and stars she’d always known. Selene cast one last look south at the ominous mirage and Kukui’s beach shack just beyond before climbing back inside and crawling into bed.

* * *

 

Selene spent the next morning helping Lani clean and sort the treasures she had collected the previous day. Everything had to be catalogued and appraised for value, and after that Lani could begin cutting, carving, and molding the newest batch of jewelry. She was so excited about the prism scale Selene had found that she got to work on the medallion she wanted to craft right away.

“It will be my finest work,” Lani gushed. “Better than those pearls by a half, just wait and see.”

Selene glanced at the drawer in the kitchen where the ruined pearls still sat, a reminder of the previous night’s upset. “You’re the best jeweler this side of Ula'ula, Mom. Of course it’ll be beautiful.”

Lani smiled proudly. “I’m thinking something simple but bold, something that will really make the colors shine. I only have to get the polishing just right...”

Lani’s Meowth, a cream-colored transplant from Kanto of a different breed than the Dark-types more commonly found in Alola, stretched out and walked in between their legs, looking for a free back rub. She was a lazy cat, always sleeping or eating, but she had been a gift from Selene’s father and lived with them ever since. Any day now, she would likely evolve into a luxurious Persian and become even lazier, but such was the life of a house cat. Lani, unlike most Tamers, did not have a taste for training Pokémon to battle, not even for self-defense. When Selene was old enough to start training up her own team and confronted her mother about her choices, Lani had smiled and said that Selene’s Pokémon could protect them both, and that was that. Lani’s work was her life, and that was how she liked it.

They worked all morning, and by the time they finished lunch, Hau stopped by with plans to visit Lillie.

“Did you at least eat already?” Selene asked. “I doubt Professor Kukui has anything left after you cleaned him out yesterday.”

Hau laughed her off. “You make it sound like I’m some kinda human vacuum.”

“You sort of are.”

“Aw, it’s cool!”

Lani bid them goodbye, and together Selene and Hau hiked south along the beach toward Kukui’s place. Lillie answered the door, which Kukui had repaired enough not to fall off under the slightest pressure.

“Oh, good morning! Er, I mean, good afternoon,” Lillie greeted them with a smile that lit up her pretty face and made Hau blush.

“Hey, Lillie,” he said, laughing off his nervousness. “Howzit?”

“Lillie, who is it?” Kukui called from somewhere downstairs. “Is it the plumber I called?”

“Ah, no it’s not, Professor! It’s Hau and Selene!”

“Where is he? I’ve been waiting all morning!”

“Uh, everything okay?” Hau asked.

Lillie shook her head, still smiling. “Professor Kukui wanted to show me Lycanroc’s Accelerock attack this morning, since I’d never seen it before, and he ended up bursting a pipe. The first floor bathroom’s a little flooded now.”

“How essentially Kukui to let the giant wolf out in the house,” Selene said.

“Haha, yeah, Prof’s always pullin’ stunts. He’s totally lolo, but I like that about him, ya know?” Hau said.

“Yes, I think I’m starting to see what you mean,” Lillie said, giggling.

She admitted them, and Nebby was there to nearly knock Selene over in greeting. “You know, I’m starting to prefer you back in your bag, Nebby,” she threatened.

Nebby didn’t get it and chimed happily, pleased to be the center of attention once more. Lillie’s Stufful was also about and pawing the Luvdisc tank in vain, spooking the fish and growling, unable to understand why he couldn’t reach them.

“We’ve all adjusted well enough,” Lillie said, directing them to the kitchen table and bringing over a pitcher of what looked like freshly squeezed lemonade. “Professor Kukui’s been so kind to me.”

Selene sipped the lemonade Lillie had poured for her, the glass cool even through her long gloves. It was tart and savory, just a little sweet. Delicious.

“Hey, did you make this?” Hau asked. “It’s amazing!”

Lillie blushed. “Oh, you think so? He had lemons, and I like to keep my hands busy, so...”

“Man, you should sell this stuff, seriously. I’d buy it.”

Lillie worried her hands. “We did that once when we were kids. My brother and me...”

Kukui emerged from the lab then, shirtless as per his usual and soaking wet. “I had no idea there were so many pipes in this house!”

“Everything okay, Prof?” Hau asked.

“Soggy but A-okay, cos!” Kukui gave them all a thumbs up.

“Coulda fooled me,” Selene said under her breath.

After some shuffling, another round of lemonade, and Kukui toweling off and then handing off his used towel to Stufful to gleefully rip to shreds, the four of them were seated around the kitchen table.

“So here’s the thing, kiddos,” Kukui said. “Lillie was telling me this morning that she’s got someone she needs to meet in Heahea City. She got shipwrecked and blown off course all the way here, so it’s important that she gets a move on soon.”

“Wait, what?” Selene said. “What happened to answering my questions?”

“Lillie?” Kukui said.

She wrung her hands. “I’m sorry. There are things that I... I really shouldn’t talk about them. Not for me, but for your sake. I know that isn’t really fair, but please believe me. I just want to stop being a burden to you all as soon as I can. You’ve done so much to help me already, but I have to get to Akala Island.”

“And you will,” Kukui said. “Hau and Selene will escort you.”

“Wait, _what_?” Selene said.

“Oh, sure! That’s no problem,” Hau said. “I love Heahea City!”

“Not to worry, Selene,” Kukui said. “I’ll be going, too. We’ll take my boat, the _Springtime Youth_.”

“Aw, that old clunker? She’s, like, fifty years old!” Hau complained.

“Hey, with age comes great wisdom, Hau,” Kukui said.

“It’s a fucking _boat_ ,” Selene said, exasperated. “Boats can’t be wise. And I never even agreed to this.”

“I know you didn’t, but I know I would feel much better if you came along,” Kukui said cheerfully. “Lillie ended up here because of an unfortunate accident. We can drop her off at Heahea City at very little cost, so why not?”

“Heahea’s a huge city, Selene!” Hau said. “There’s so much to do there, and there’s a ton of Pokémon you don’t see here on the island. Maybe we can check out the Lush Jungle or somethin’!”

“That’s the spirit, Hau,” Kukui said. “And my wife works in Heahea City. Lillie, if your plans permit, maybe you can stop by her lab and meet her, like we discussed last night?”

Lillie smiled. “Yes! I’d like that very much. Um, thank you, Professor.”

“C’mon, Selene,” Hau whined. “If you go, Tutu’ll have to let me go, too.”

“I _really_ doubt that,” Selene said.

“But it wouldn’t be as fun without you. And I bet they got some awesome jewelry stores there! Hey, maybe you can find some cool stuff for Auntie?”

“Please, Selene?” Lillie asked. “I’m sure the journey would be more fun with you there.”

Selene leveled her with a withering look. _You really believe that?_ She didn’t believe it for a second. And there was still the fact that she knew next to nothing about Lillie.

Nebby Teleported right in front of Selene just then, scaring the daylights out of her. “Holy—! What the hell is your problem, anyway?!”

Nebby chimed happily, smoking from her glittering horns like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“What do you say, Selene? It’s three to one, and I’m buying,” Kukui said.

“C’mon, Selene, let’s go! When’s the last time you took a vacation?” Hau said.

_We live on a tropical island, idiot. Every day is like a vacation._

But she saw how set on this Hau was, and even Kukui seemed strangely determined like he almost never was. Lillie was gazing at her hopefully, and Selene felt her resolve cracking. It wasn’t particularly that she had a reason not to go. Lani would be busy with the latest treasure haul and wouldn’t need fresh ingredients for a while, so there was little else for Selene to do in the interim. A few days in the city could be a welcome distraction, regardless of whatever Lillie was doing.

“I mean...” Selene said.

Hau took her gloved hands in his and looked at her with the most ridiculous Lillipup eyes Selene had ever seen. “Pleeeeease?”

“Oh my god, stop looking at me like that.” Selene pulled her hands away. “Fine, whatever, I’ll go.”

“Yeah! This is gonna be so fun!”

“Slow down there, cos,” Kukui said. “You better run it by old Hala, ya hear?”

“Aw, he’ll be cool with it! Heahea’s not too far, and we can stay at your wife’s place, right?”

“Hau, don’t be such a freeloader,” Selene said.

“No problem! Our house in Heahea’s got plenty of room! Lillie, you can stay with us, too, until you meet up with your brother, yeah?”

_So that’s who she’s meeting._

Selene supposed it was innocent enough. Maybe Lillie really had just encountered some bad luck at sea and gotten derailed on her trip to meet up with her brother. Something about it all still felt off to her, and she wasn’t quite buying Lillie’s guileless act. But if it was answers she wanted, she would not get them unless she stuck around Lillie a little longer.

_What do I care what she’s doing or where she came from? It’s nothing to me._

And yet, something still bugged her. Selene had always had a rather excellent bullshit meter, not one to suffer fools or fabulists, and it was setting off alarm bells left and right when she looked at pretty, unfortunate, innocent Lillie. It was the principle of the thing, she told herself. Who knew what could happen if Hau went without her? He was as gullible and compassionate as they came, and it was those types who always ended up hurt in the end.

“When do we leave?” Selene asked reluctantly.

“Well, _Springtime Youth_ ’s moored in the Hau'oli Harbor, so I’ll have to send a bird over to the harbormaster and get her ready for the trip,” Kukui said. “Let’s shoot for this time tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah!” Hau whooped.

“Yes,” Lillie said, smiling shyly and hugging Nebby close like one might a stuffed animal.

“Fine,” Selene grumbled.

_Tomorrow._

* * *

 

The blinds were closed to blot out the sunlight that wasn’t there on this dreary rainy day. The room wasn’t a room so much as an enormous closet, its only furniture a saggy moth-eaten mattress with no frame squished against the wall and a chest with a busted iron lock that wouldn’t keep the truly determined out, anyway. Gladion was lying on the mattress, the cover sheet rumpled and partly exposing the grey mattress underneath, not that he cared. Cleanliness was no virtue in this place, but a futile exercise in insanity best left at the door along with all knives, switchblades, and blunt weapons. Even Pokémon were relegated to their Pokéballs most of the time. House rules. The fewer fights that broke out and damaged the property even more, the better for everyone.

Gladion wasn’t sleepy. It was hard to sleep in this place most nights, but he’d stopped caring about that, too. Material possessions, personal comfort, they didn’t matter, not really. He had what mattered; the rest was just white noise. It was amazing what he could hear without that buzzing in his head, the wants and comforts, and just listen. He heard the rain. It was loud, coming down hard, grey light suffused through the cracked and bent blinds, shitty and shoddy like almost everything in this squalid house. He rubbed his tired eyes, as grey as the sky undoubtedly was beyond those dusty blinds, so dark they were nearly green, and sat up on his bed. The pillow was flat, hardly worth it, but it was here, so there wasn’t much of a need to toss it for no reason. His white-blond hair was a rumpled mess from tossing and turning during the couple hours of sleep he had gotten, so he ran a hand through it and smoothed it out a little. Good enough.

_Coffee._

This place didn’t have much, but it did have that. Black and strong. He got up and stretched. His skin was pale, maybe too pale, but Ula'ula was the rainiest of Alola’s four islands, and sun was never a guarantee here in Po Town on the northern shore. A large tattoo over his left bicep grinned when he flexed, a stylized graffiti ‘S’ vaguely in the shape of a human skull, his gang’s logo. He was tall and muscular, but too thin and slender, a consequence of the fast food and cheap whiskey diet that came with his room. He sniffed at himself and deemed a shower to be of lower priority for the time being. He pulled on a black hoodie that he’d left discarded on the floor last night, checked his pockets for the three Pokéballs he never let out of his sight, not even in the shower, and tried to leave his room. Something was blocking the door. He shoved it as hard as he could and managed to get it open just wide enough to scrape through to the hallway. A man called Sweet Dreams Danny rolled over on the floor at his feet, having fallen asleep right there who knew how long ago. His dark hair was as greasy as the half-eaten slice of pizza on an oily paper plate next to him, and while he stirred at Gladion’s passing, he soon fell back asleep and began snoring softly.

“Fucking narcolept,” Gladion muttered. “Danny. Hey, wake up, man. You can’t sleep there.”

Danny muttered in his sleep and rolled over onto his cold pizza slice, smearing his bearded face with pepperoni and black olives. Gladion tried shaking him.

“Huh? Hmm, that you, Gladion?” Danny slurred.

“Yeah.”

“What’re you doin’ in my bed?” Danny blinked bleary brown eyes up at him. A thin line of spit hung from the side of his mouth and connected him to the pizza.

Gladion rolled his eyes and used his sleeve to loosen a couple olives from Danny’s beard. “You’re in the hall outside _my_ room. Just get up, c’mon.”

He hauled Danny to his feet and half carried, half dragged him toward the common area. All the while Danny was murmuring something about mini rotisseries and half-price basters, some shit he’d seen on a late-night infomercial. Danny loved infomercials. He stayed up late to watch them, which was probably why he was always sleeping at weird times of the day.

Gladion made it to the common room, which was little better than his own room in terms of general upkeep. There was a green rug with holes in it and a suspicious dark stain in the middle surrounded by a few old couches and sofas facing an ancient television set. Currently, some reality show about a woman dating twenty men at once to find true love was playing, and a captive audience sat around it offering colorful commentary.

“Yo, this bitch is _thirsty_ ,” said Blue Barney, a dwarf whose hair was in fact dyed a dazzling shade of blue. “She was just havin’ dinner with that dude Blake, and now she’s suckin’ face with Ricardo in the hot tub!”

“Blake’s a pansy,” said Samantha, a fleshy redhead with a pig nose meticulously painting her toenails while watching. She was a haole, like Gladion, but she’d been born and raised on Ula'ula and was as local as they came. “I’d rather suck face with Ricardo than Blake any day.”

“Che, if it was me, this show woulda been over after the first episode."

“Hah! Yeah, right. Like she’d choose you over that dreamboat Ricardo."

Blue Barney ran his stubby fingers through his cerulean locks. “That’s right. Ladies love ‘em some Blue. I got that ocean motion, you feel me?”

“Cos, the only thing’s blue ‘bout you is ya blue balls,” said Hani, a seven-foot-tall black man who preferred the sound of raucous laughter over all others. His right arm was covered entirely by a thick support brace buckled around his shoulders that made a clicking sound whenever he moved. His head was shaved and tattooed with the likeness of a human skull, a terrifying sight that was ruined by his penchant for smiling. Hani got his wish when the whole room erupted in laughter at his joke.

Blue Barney got up and was threatening to pull his pants down to show them all just how _not_ blue his balls truly were when he noticed Gladion dragging Sweet Dreams Danny over to the nearest pleather sofa and deposit him like a sack of potatoes. A woman on the sofa he’d selected was reading a trashy romance novel and smoking a cigarette. She gave Gladion the stink eye when he offloaded Danny next to her, but Gladion showed her his back before she could start any shit. He had every mind to get to the adjoining kitchen and make that coffee he desperately needed.

“Hey, Gladion,” Blue Barney called after him. “Where d’you think you’re goin’?”

“What, he’s still here?” Samantha said.

The program forgotten, the room turned on Gladion as he reached the counter and began fumbling around for the coffee. There was a can of instant under the sink, the lid lost, and when he pulled it out, an enormous cockroach scuttled out and scurried through a crack under the sink. Gladion gave the coffee grinds a sniff, deemed them non-toxic, and dumped a handful in the coffee maker. The pot was cloudy with past brews, and something vaguely gelatinous had begun to form on the bottom, so he rinsed it out thoroughly in the sink, which mercifully pumped out clean clear water.

“Of course he’s still here,” said the woman Gladion had disturbed before. Lei Fan was hot in a strung out kind of way, just a little too skinny and bony but cleaner cut than most of the others. She had shockingly bright magenta hair that completed her punk princess look. She was no princess, though; beneath her bony exterior were fingers that could flip knives faster and with more precision than anyone Gladion had ever met. “He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Some of the others chortled their agreement. Gladion ignored them. It was usually best to let them talk without making it worse.

“What? Nothin’ to say?” Blue Barney egged him on. He waddled into the kitchen while Gladion stood watching the old coffee maker eek out the viscous black sludge he’d be slogging back soon enough. “What’s the matter, kid? Torracat got your tongue?”

Blue Barney poked him roughly in the side, and Gladion swore and whirled on him. He was just north of four feet, and his ridiculously styled hair added another couple inches. Like the others, he wore black and grey, ill-fitting and baggy due to his short stature. His hair was an almost obscene splash of color amidst the drear.

“Back off,” Gladion growled down at him, his hand going for the Pokéballs in his pocket.

“Oooh, kid’s got a temper!” Blue Barney feigned fear. “What’sa matter, huh? Did I hurt your wittle feewings?”

The coffee maker dinged finally, and Gladion poured it out piping hot into the nearest mug he could find, uncaring that it was smudged with lipstick from a previous use and unwashed. He just wanted to get the hell away from them before he did something stupid. But Blue Barney was in his way.

“Move,” Gladion said as threateningly as he could muster.

“‘Ey, Barney, give it a rest,” said Hani. “Commercial’s over and she ‘bout to eliminate some bruddahs.”

“No way, you don’t get to talk to me like that,” Blue Barney said. “I’m your elder, punk. Show me some respect.”

Blue Barney poked at him again, and Gladion tried to avoid the jab. He wound up spilling half his coffee by accident, and some splashed on Blue Barney. He howled in pain, the liquid boiling hot, and like flies on shit the rest of them advanced into the kitchen.

Someone grabbed Gladion roughly by the arm—Lei Fan, her grip surprisingly vicious and her nails deadly sharp as they drew blood through his tattered hoodie.

“You shit stain! That fuckin’ _hurt_ , yo!” Blue Barney said. He tossed out a Pokéball, and a squat Salandit of a height with his trainer appeared, his tongue flicking in and out like a licking flame. Reptilian yellow eyes zeroed in on Gladion.

“Okay, little man,” said Hani, trying to break it up peacefully. “That’s enough, yeah?”

“He burned me!” Blue Barney griped.

“He did, I saw it,” Samantha said, still wielding her nail polish brush and dripping red polish all over the linoleum floor to absolutely no one’s dismay.

“Boss ain’t gonna like you pickin’ fights with Gladion,” Hani cautioned.

“Boss ain’t here, Hani,” Blue Barney said, grinning like this deduction was an accomplishment in and of itself.

“You tried to punch me, you douchebag! It was an accident!” Gladion protested.

Lei Fan tightened her grip on him. “Cool it."

Blue Barney spluttered. “Well, I guess this is an accident, too. Salandit!”

Salandit hissed, and Gladion tried to rip free of Lei Fan’s crushing grip to get at his own Pokéballs, but just then Salandit shied and scampered behind Blue Barney like the cockroach Gladion had fought off earlier. Another hiss, this one much silkier and bone-chilling, came from the living room. Gladion didn’t have to turn to know what had happened; he could feel Salazzle’s noxious heat the moment she stepped into the room.

“You know how much I hate when accidents happen,” said Salazzle’s trainer as she sauntered into the kitchen.

“P-Plumeria,” said Blue Barney, shrinking smaller than his Salandit. “You’re back early.”

“I don’t like being away from you guys for too long. It makes me sad,” said Plumeria.

She was average in nearly every way: neither beautiful nor ugly, neither especially tall nor short, a face you’ve seen a hundred times before. Even her pink and blonde dye job didn’t really stand out the way Lei Fan’s did. What gave Plumeria the power to quiet a room were her Veleno hands, one bloodlessly pale and the other as if dipped in tar, the nails allowed to grow into their naturally curved shape and sharpened to fine deadly points. She clicked her nails, and Gladion couldn’t help but shiver at the sound. Salazzle towered over Plumeria nearly of a height with Hani, emaciated and slick with poisonous sweat. Her long tail, all muscle, thumped the floor.

Plumeria walked past everyone and set a stack of mail on the kitchen counter. “Mail came.” She turned her dark eyes on Gladion, and he swallowed. “Gladion?”

Gladion averted his gaze and tried to ignore the sour taste in his mouth. “Sorry, Blue Barney. I didn't mean to burn you, man.”

Blue Barney’s face was red like he was trying to pass a kidney stone the size of his fist, but he nodded reluctantly. “It’s cool, brah. I’m sorry, too.”

Plumeria selected a mug from the cabinet, rinsed it out, and poured herself out a cup of coffee from the pot Gladion had made. “I'm glad we’re all friends again. You know it makes me sad to see you all argue.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” they all mumbled contritely.

“We’re Team Skull,” Plumeria said, sipping the coffee. Her mug read World’s Greatest MILF. “ _Team_. That means we stick together, like family.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” came the echoed assent once more.

Plumeria continued to sip her coffee while Salazzle salivated just a few feet away. Finally, Plumeria waved her blanched healing hand dismissively. “You can all go. I apologize for interrupting your show.” After a pause she added, “Samantha, that red looks really pretty on you.”

Samantha’s round face lit up in a smile, and she became instantly as pretty as Plumeria said in her joy. “You think so? I just got it new.”

“Yeah. Maybe I can borrow it next time?”

“Sure! Just lemme know whenever. I got a whole buncha new colors if you wanna try others.”

The room seemed to release a collective breath, and just like that all the tension melted away. Everyone headed back to the living room to watch the remainder of the show, Lei Fan returned to her romance novel and cigarettes, and Blue Barney recalled his Salandit.

“Gladion,” Plumeria said. When she spoke it was always softly, like she could not be bothered to raise her voice for any reason at all, and she often didn’t need to. “Come with me.”

Gladion didn’t argue. He was wide awake now even without the coffee, so he deposited his mug in the sink for someone else to deal with and followed her out the kitchen to the second floor, where her room was.

The house belonged to their gang, Team Skull, and it was more of a mansion than a regular home. It occupied a ten acre plot at the north end of town near the beach, but the coast was rocky and unsuited to sunbathers or beach-goers. Po Town in general was unsuited to most tastes with its rainy days, unpleasantly chilly weather, and local riff raff. It had once been a growing town profiting like the rest of the island from the more urban Malie City’s mounting prosperity. But with prosperity came widespread gentrification, and thus in recent decades Po Town had become the hotspot for affordable housing for low-income earners forced out of the increasingly affluent Malie City. The commute on the Exeggutor Express, Ula'ula’s supposedly high-speed electric bus system, was a dismal two hours one way.

Po Town’s rents were cheap and it was far enough away from the beefier security in Malie City, and so it soon became a bed of criminal activity. Malie’s police force did what it could, but with its own residents paying the bills, their priorities lay closer to home. Po Town was left to fend for itself. That was when Team Skull found its foothold.

The gang had an easy time securing real estate on the cheap, buying up a couple houses and even an apartment building over the years. Membership was on the rise, and Po Town’s residents became defined by their affiliation or lack thereof with Team Skull. The gang took over local policing, which did little to curb its members’ proclivities, but at least took care to run out the competition. If you were with Team Skull, you were family. Protected, at least from the outside. Like all families, it was prone to internal strife, and brothers today could turn on you tomorrow depending on which way the wind was blowing. It was far from a perfect system, but it was all Po Town had.

Gladion had come here a couple years ago, approached by the gang’s leader himself, Guzma, and became an enforcer. Which was really just a polite way of saying hired thug. Team Skull was essentially a gang of mercenaries who took jobs doing anything from club security in Malie to courier services to hit jobs, if the pay was good enough. No job was too small or too dirty or too good for the right price. Guzma was a Volucris, and he strongly believed in rising from humble beginnings and the power of numbers to overcome anything life could throw at him. Even the lowliest bottom feeder could rise to the top with a good work ethic and a good crew, as he himself had done. That is, if being the Boss of Team Skull could be considered the top.

 _Top of the shit pile, maybe,_ Gladion thought.

But he was grateful to Guzma. If it hadn’t been for him, he might still be out there on the streets, begging like some kicked dog. How he’d survived those first months on the streets wandering from Akala to Ula'ula and taking whatever odd jobs he could find just to be able to feed himself and his Pokémon, Gladion did not really know. But fortuitously, Guzma had found him and brought him here. He may well have saved Gladion’s life.

_“You won’t last a day without me, you selfish boy.”_

Gladion gritted his teeth at the memory of his mother’s voice, that haughty arrogance that, as always, had proven right in the end. Until Guzma.

_I’ve lasted three years without you, and I’ll keep on lasting._

Lost in thought, Gladion followed Plumeria on autopilot to her room, and before he knew it he was sitting on the floor while she went to the connecting bathroom to freshen up. Salazzle, one of the few Pokémon allowed out of her Pokéball around the house because she was Plumeria’s, leaped onto the four-poster bed and curled up like a leggy cat.

“Picking fights again?” Plumeria called from her bathroom.

 _He started it,_ Gladion wanted to say, but he caught himself. If it sounded juvenile in his head, it would sound even worse out loud.

“You know how those guys can be,” he said instead. “It’s not a big deal. Blue Barney’s all talk.”

Plumeria emerged from the bathroom in leggings and a midriff-baring tie-dye T-shirt that showed the black Team Skull insignia tattoo on her navel. Gladion had heard from some of the guys that she had it done in her own Veleno poison, so that if anyone ever cut her down, they’d go down with her when they broke the skin. Fucking crazy. Then again, these were the same guys who said Guzma could transform into a giant spider as big as the house when he got really pissed, so it was best to take what they said with a fistful of salt.

“I worry about you,” Plumeria said, taking a seat at her vanity and pulling out her long pigtails. The dyed tresses clashed with her shirt, but she didn’t give a shit. Plumeria liked what she liked and woe to anyone who ever tried to tell her otherwise. “What are you now, twenty? Twenty-one?”

“Twenty-one."

“So you’ve been with us coming on three years, and you haven’t made a single friend yet.”

He shrugged. “You’re my friend.”

She caught his gaze through the mirror and he saw her smile softly. “That’s something, at least.”

Plumeria liked to think of herself as everyone’s big sister. She was always looking out for the guys, especially the new ones, and Gladion had been no different. He had never met a Veleno before Plumeria, and like most, he had been wary of her, even afraid. It would have been sensible to keep his distance from her. Accidents happen, and from what Gladion had heard through the grapevine, Plumeria had had her share of accidents over the years.

Maybe it was nostalgia. He’d grown up with women, and he tended to prefer their company to men, who were usually more abrasive or more arrogant or just louder in his personal experience. Maybe it was her, that she was better at the whole sister thing than he gave her credit for. Gladion had watched her save a guy’s life with her bare hand, her healing hand, after he’d been in a fight with Malie City police. One of them had a Grimer whose poison had burned through most of the flesh and muscle of the guy’s right arm, and it would have killed him if not for Plumeria. Gladion had never seen anything like it, the way the venom receded from him like night flees from daylight, her long white nails digging into his heart and forcing it to expel the toxins. Even Guzma had wondered if it was a lost cause, something he almost never did when it concerned one of his own. But Plumeria never gave up, and she saved the guy’s life. That guy had been Hani, and as soon as he recovered, he got that skull tattoo on his head to mark him as one of them for life, come what may.

Most of the Skull guys harbored a healthy fear of Plumeria, but Gladion could think only of the way she’d used her Veleno abilities to save a man who was beyond saving. It was something he, born a pleb, would never be able to do. As far as he was concerned, a woman who could do that was better as an ally and a friend any day.

“I have something for you,” Plumeria said, handing him an envelope over her shoulder. “A letter. It looks personal.”

Gladion got up, curious. Who would write him any letters? His mother had no idea where he was, and he hadn’t spoken to her since he left home forever, never to look back.

“Secret admirer?” Plumeria teased as she brushed her hair.

“No, it’s... Oh, shit.” Gladion scanned the letter with wide eyes, disbelieving.

“What?” Plumeria set down her brush and turned to look at him properly. “Is something wrong?”

“No. I mean, maybe. It’s from my sister.”

“You have a sister? You never told me that.”

_I never told you a lot of things._

That was how it had to be if he wanted to stay off the radar. His mother, Lusamine, was powerful and had nearly unlimited resources at her disposal as president of the Aether Foundation. If she wanted to find him, drag him back, she could do it. Unless he left no trail. All his credit cards, X-Transceiver, IDs, anything that could be traced or linked back to him he’d left behind on that black night when he’d escaped Aether Paradise, the home of his childhood. Alone, Lusamine likely would not have cared a Raticate’s ass whether he ever came back or not. But he hadn’t left alone.

He pulled out Null’s Ultra Ball and looked between it and the letter. If he hadn’t stolen Null, Lusamine’s mad science experiment gone wrong, none of this would be happening. But if he hadn’t stolen Null, Null would be long terminated.

 _“I’ll come back for you,”_ he’d told his sister just before he absconded into the night. _“I promise.”_

That was three years ago, and he hadn’t gone back once. And now, she was coming to him.

“Gladion,” Plumeria said, pulling him from his thoughts. “Do you need my help with anything?”

She was standing, and Salazzle was looking right at him from the bed, too. He wanted to say no, it was none of her business, anyway. But what could he do alone? _What have I ever been able to do alone?_ It might already be too late.

“My little sister, Lillie,” he said. “I was saving all my earnings so one day I could get us a place to live, somewhere safe.” _Somewhere away from that woman._ “But she doesn’t want to wait anymore.”

Plumeria put the picture together quickly. “So she’s left home and is coming to look for you? How does she know you’re here?”

“She doesn’t. Our old nanny probably sent this. She’s the only one who knows where I am.” The only one he could trust, and even that wasn’t certain. If Lusamine ever found out Wicke had been helping him...

Plumeria held out her healing hand. “May I?”

Gladion hesitated a moment, but he handed the letter over for her to read, his mind racing. _What the hell did you do, Lillie?_

“What’s a ‘Nebby?’” Plumeria asked.

Gladion wanted to be furious. He _was_ furious. Lillie knew he was saving up for them, and he just needed time. Wicke would have assured her that he was doing everything he could, that he would never abandon her like their parents had, in their ways.

_She took Nebby. God-fucking-damnit, Lillie._

There was no way Lusamine would ever let her get away with it. Null was one thing, but Nebby...

“It’s not important,” Gladion said. It was one secret that would have to stay between blood siblings, no matter how much he wanted to trust in Plumeria’s good intentions. “What’s important is she’s going to Heahea City expecting to meet me, and if I'm not there...”

_If I’m not there, Lusamine will catch up to her for sure. She won’t stand a chance in hell._

Plumeria looked at him carefully. “Then you’ll have to be there when she arrives.”

“What? But that’s all the way on Akala. I don’t have an assignment, so I can’t leave. And even if I could, Golbat can’t fly all the way across the sea in one shot.”

“Then you’ll go by boat. And as for an assignment, you’ve got one now.” She handed him back his letter. “Go meet with Lillie. Consider it an order directly from me.”

Gladion looked at her, incredulous. “Why’re you helping me? If Guzma finds out I skipped town for this, he’ll skin me.”

“Guzma’s not here, and I’m in charge. I can do what I want.”

“You’re serious.”

Plumeria smirked, and it sent a chill down his back. “Pack your bags, haole. You’re taking a little vacation.”


	4. Do You Wanna Build a Sand Castle? -or- Every Day Is Spring!

This was beyond a doubt the softest bed in the known world. Ivy had always been something of an insomniac, able to go days on end without proper sleep due to her Reaper nature. Nights were her time to awaken, not to sleep. But damn if this bed hadn’t made her a believer. It was like waking on a cloud, and she never wanted to get up. Her stretching did not go unnoticed, and next to her in the large canopy bed, another stirred.

“You slept,” said Gary, slowly opening his eyes to see her.

“Like a rock,” Ivy said, smiling. “I could sleep all day in this bed.”

He sat up. “Tempting, but we have things to do today.”

Ivy pulled him back down to the bed and pinned him before he knew what hit him. Gary’s Espeon, previously asleep at the foot of the bed, jumped off.

“What’s your rush?” Ivy lowered her face to his. “We’re on vacation, remember?”

He fisted her long hair and flipped them over, and she sank into the luxurious feather bed beneath his weight. “Pesky woman,” he said, drawing her into long and heated kiss.

It was another hour before they were finally out of bed, showered, and ready to start the day. She waited for Gary to finish up in the bathroom outside in the private garden terrace. A small fountain bubbled in the center at the end of a stone path, and beyond there was access to a short trail that led directly to the Hano Beach. She went to sit on the stone bench by the fountain, which offered a beautiful view of the southwestern shoreline. Maybe tonight they could do something romantic like watch the sunset over the ocean.

She smiled at the thought, her most pressing concern these days. “How things have changed.”

“What’s changed?” asked Gary, joining her outside.

Like her, he was dressed for the weather in casual attire and sandals. They had plans to check out to the beach later. He handed her a pair of sunglasses she’d left inside.

“So much,” Ivy said. “But it’s a good change.”

He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Some things haven’t changed.”

She grinned up at him and traced his jawline with a finger. “Yeah, that’s pretty good, too.”

She kissed him softly and had the slightest urge to go back to bed, but they had things to do today. Leave it to Gary Oak to turn their island getaway into a working vacation, but it was one argument she’d never win. Some things definitely would never change.

“So, he’s your cousin?” Ivy asked as they left the hotel and headed for downtown Heahea City.

“Uncle Samson is Gramps’ cousin,” Gary said. “So, I guess you could call him my cousin.”

“But you just called him Uncle Samson.”

“It’s better than calling him First Cousin Twice Removed Samson.”

“Fair point. Still, kinda random that you have family all the way out here.”

Pelipper Avenue was Heahea City’s main street, and it was packed with people this morning. The street itself was narrower than Ivy would have expected, a relic of the old city preserved over all these years, and both sides were lined with restaurants, boutiques, and other shops all open for business. The smells got the better of Ivy soon enough, and she dragged Gary into a small café for breakfast. While Ivy was feasting on her third scone, Gary’s X-Transceiver beeped, alerting him to a message.

“Damn,” he said. “Looks like Uncle Samson’s home sick today. Something about a bad malasada.”

Ivy cringed. “Gross, food poisoning? I bet he’ll be pants down on the toilet all day.”

Gary shot her a look. “That was a really specific visual no one needed to hear.”

“You brought it up.”

“He’s probably faking it.”

“What? He’s, like, seventy. If he doesn’t want to go to work, he should just be able to say so and not put up with anybody’s judgmental bullshit.”

“Yeah, well, Gramps always said Uncle Samson was the best and worst scientist ever born to the Oak family. Smart guy, but lazier than a Snorlax.”

Ivy felt a smile coming on. “Really? A _lazy_ Oak? This I’ve gotta see.”

“Well, you’ll have to wait in suspense another day. I swear, if I came all this way and he’s faking sick just to get out of work...”

“Whatever. Anyway, this is great news.”

“How is any of this great news?”

“Because now we get to spend the whole day at the beach!”

If possible, Gary’s expression soured even more. “Oh.”

“Finish your sad latte and let’s _go_!”

“What’s wrong with my latte? Hey wait, we still have to pay. Ivy!”

Not long after, they were back at the Hano Grand Resort, towels and sunscreen in hand, and staking out a good spot on the beach. Families, couples, and a number of Pokémon were out enjoying the beautiful summer day at the beach. Children flew kites, a group of summering college students had a volleyball game going, and waiters from the resort scurried about ferrying drinks and snacks to all the patrons. Gary and Ivy set up camp at a pair of reclining beds under a red umbrella, and Gary stripped down to his swim trunks to lather up on sunscreen while Ivy snapped some pictures of the beach with her camera.

Gary finished smoothing out his towel just right when the breeze blew and messed it all up again. “Damn wind,” he grumbled, circling the bed to fix the towel.

He didn’t make it two steps before tripping and landing in the sand flat on his face with a muffled _oof_.

Ivy ran to his side to see what the matter was. “Gary? Are you okay?”

He got up, covered in sand that had stuck to his freshly sunscreened chest, and brandished a pink and black spiky _thing_ at her. “I tripped over this thing!”

He squeezed it too hard, and all of a sudden the creature’s innards pooped out of its mouth and hung like wet stringy noodles, twitching. Between it and the sight of Gary covered in sand and hopping mad, Ivy couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Oh my god! You look _so ridiculous_!”

“Stop laughing and get the Pokédex!”

Ivy was in tears from laughing so hard. “Your _face_! Oh my god, wait, I have to take a picture of this! Don’t move.”

“Goddamnit Ivy, I’ll throw this thing at you.”

She snapped a few pictures over his protests, but when she tried to do a selfie with him he threw a fistful of sand at her.

“Okay, okay, just don’t drop the poor thing,” she relented.

Ivy fished around her bag for her Pokédex, a green handheld computer no larger than her camera that she’d received years ago from Gary’s late grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak. 

“Any day now!”

“I said okay, goddamn. Keep your panties on.” Ivy powered up the device and pointed the laser reader at the wriggling Pokémon in Gary’s hands. It was making a disgusting slurping sound as it tried to suck its stomach back up like spaghetti. “Hey, it says there’s no data.”

“What? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’s like it doesn’t even recognize it as a Pokémon at all.” She showed Gary the blank error screen.

Gary grimaced. “Then I guess we don’t need you anymore.” In a bout of refreshingly unpredictable whim, he chucked the thing as hard as he could into the water, where it landed with a _splash_ and disappeared below the waves. “Good riddance.”

“Sir! Excuse me, sir!” called a rather distressed waiter carrying a tray of empty drinks. He was sweating in his uniform from running.

“Ooh! Good timing. Can we put in an order?” Ivy said, waving at him with the laminated menu and prepared to order one of everything on it.

“What? Oh, well, of course,” the waiter said. “But sir, I just wanted to let you know that you don’t have to chuck the Pyukumuku back into the water yourself. We have a staff of professional chuckers on hand to keep the beach pristine for you, so please don’t bother yourself about it.”

“Pyukumuku?” Gary asked.

“I’m sorry, did you just say professional chuckers?” Ivy said. “As in, you pay people to throw those thorny pink bile bags?”

Gary shot her a warning look.

“Um, yes, Pyukumuku," the waiter said. "They’re a bit of a nuisance on the beaches. Rather harmless unless they’re squeezed and their innards burst out. It can be dangerous to touch them because of the corrosive bile, like you said, but I assure you Pyukumuku are perfectly docile. All the same, we leave the chucking to the professionals for safety reasons.”

“Pyukumuku,” Gary said again. “I’ve never heard of them in Kanto.”

The waiter smiled politely. “Yes, they’re native only to Alola. Odd Pokémon, when you think about it. I think they just want a bit of sun. It’s almost a shame that we have to throw them back in the water.”

“So how much money are we talking?” Ivy pressed.

“They mostly accept tips from the guests, but...”

“Ignore her,” Gary said. “Thanks for the information. Where are these chuckers? Can I alert them if I see another one?”

“Oh, well, they’re around somewhere."

Gary did not look pleased by this answer.

“We’ll be here for a couple more weeks, so if they’re hiring part-timers and the pay’s good, I’d be willing to help you out,” Ivy said.

The waiter looked hopelessly unsure.

“We’ll take two Pinap Coladas, please,” Gary said, shoving some bills at the waiter. “Take your time.”

“A-Ah! Right away, sir!”

He scuttled off, and Ivy turned on Gary.

“Hey, that coulda been some easy money,” she complained.

“We’re on vacation,” Gary said smugly. “You can con people when we get home.” He paused before adding, “That came out wrong.”

Ivy smirked. “If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard you say that...”

Gary’s face burned bright Tamato red, and he crossed his arms. “I’m going swimming.”

“Uh-huh, okay,” Ivy said, biting back a laugh.

He turned to go, but he stopped short when he saw another Pyukumuku inching along the beach several feet away. “Another one? Where the hell are these so-called professional chuckers?” He bent to toss it back in the water.

Ivy was looking forward to working on her tan a bit before getting in the water, so she left him to it. She went to put away her Pokédex and camera, but froze when she saw that her beach bag was dumped over, ransacked. Her things were splayed on the ground haphazardly. A chill of trepidation spurred her into action, and she rifled hastily through the disarray. She didn’t find what she was looking for, though, and swore. Who the hell could have the audacity to steal from _her_?

She got up and looked around for any signs of a shady character fleeing the scene of the crime when she noticed some odd footprints in the sand. Too small to be human, the five-toed paw print was all too familiar. Affronted, she followed the prints to the next umbrella, temporarily abandoned as the guests swam in the water. Sure enough, something was rummaging around the unattended belongings, and a long curling tail bobbed like a furry grey beacon. Ivy marched right up to it.

“Hey! You little thief!” she bellowed.

The culprit spooked and meowed in surprise, knocking a half-drunk bottle of beer all over the guest’s towel. It was a Meowth, as she had suspected. The tricky felines were notorious hoarders, always pilfering coins and even jewelry, the shinier the better. But this Meowth was a dark charcoal grey, not like the Meowth she was accustomed to in Kanto. In his mouth was a crinkled tinfoil candy wrapper, a silver coin, and a tiny golden disc Ivy recognized.

“That’s my Marsh Badge!” she said,. “I fought a war to win that, so you better give it back, Meowth!”

Meowth dashed off as fast as he could go. Ivy’s anger spiked at this tiny feline’s gall, and she reached for one of her Pokéballs. Houndoom appeared in a flash of light, snarling.

“Catch that cat!” Ivy commanded, taking off running.

Houndoom barked and leaped after her, able to run much faster than she could. But damn if that Meowth wasn’t _fast_. He kicked up a Sand Attack with his hind legs when Houndoom almost ran him down, tripping up the hellhound and forcing him to stop and clear the sand from his eyes.

“Ugh, seriously?! Wigglytuff, go!”

Wigglytuff came out hopping at full speed, her powerful hind legs able to maneuver sharp turns much better than Houndoom could, and soon Meowth was on the defensive.

Wigglytuff Body Slammed Meowth, and for a moment it looked like she’d finally trounced the agile feline, but when the sand settled, Meowth had narrowly escaped and continued to sprint along the beach with Ivy’s Marsh Badge in his teeth. Houndoom had finally recovered and caught up to Ivy and Wigglytuff.

“After him!” Ivy commanded her Pokémon.

The Hano Grand Resort was far behind now, and Ivy and her Pokémon were sprinting along remote beach land unmaintained by people. The jungle here grew wild and encroached on the shore, home to various Flyers and Bugs and who knew what else. She passed by some strange statues, weathered black granite adorned with old incense and fresh flowers, but barely registered them. All she cared about was catching that Meowth before he disappeared in some hole never to be found.

In the end, it was not her well-mounted chase that finally stopped Meowth’s mad dash, but something else entirely.

“Whoa, shit!” Ivy nearly tripped over herself skidding to a stop in the damp sand, her Pokémon at her heels.

Meowth, stolen bounty still in his teeth, was furiously Fury Swiping at a pile of sand, which in any other case would have raised some uncomfortable questions about the cat’s sanity. But this sand was moving and howling, and it reared up like a great wave to swallow Meowth whole.

“What the hell?! Houndoom, get in there!”

Houndoom growled menacingly and leaped into the center of the action just as the sentient sand wave was about to drown Meowth. His jaws leaked smoky dark energy, and he Crunched right through the sand. Howls of pain, like human wailing, made Ivy shiver.

_I know this feeling..._

The pile dissolved, and Meowth was left frazzled and covered in sand, but otherwise unharmed. Except that now, Houndoom towered over him, snarling and salivating boiling-hot drool. Meowth was so terrified that he dropped his loot, including the Marsh Badge. Before Ivy could take another step, the sand started moving again, this time as far as the eye could see. Everywhere, little piles rose up seemingly of their own accord, and as one they churned and cascaded like so many ocean waves. Their intent soon became clear when Wigglytuff let out a piercing screech, and Ivy reacted on instinct, lashing out with a small switchblade she kept on her person even for the beach outing. The thin blade sliced through sand and what looked like a ghastly face in the grains, hollow eyes and a mouth gaping wide as if to swallow her hand. Her knife did little to deter the creepy sand spirit, but Wigglytuff was there with a killer Play Rough punch to the face that forced the sand to dissipate once again, its baleful death rattle as unsettling as it was familiar.

“Ghosts,” Ivy spat, whirling. “Ghosts everywhere.”

They were everywhere under the sand, forming and dissolving and reforming as they tried to sink Meowth and Houndoom and Ivy herself. She must have stumbled right onto their territory. Meowth was hissing and Biting any of the sandy Ghosts that got too close, but he was severely outnumbered and outgunned. Ivy reached for Tyranitar’s Pokéball, but stopped short in surprise when from the jungle, an entire clowder of feral Meowth and Persian burst forth with claws exposed. Like the little thief she’d chased here, they too had smoky grey coats, nearly black, richly thick for protection. That extra padding came in handy now as the cats viciously attacked the small army of sand Ghosts in defense of their outnumbered member.

Ivy was stunned into silence for a few seconds as she watched the commanding Persian ruthlessly and efficiently lead their Meowth henchmen in the systematic eradication of the Ghosts. Their Bites and Feint Attacks came in rapid succession, never letting up, piling up the damage to insurmountable levels even for the malleable Ghosts. Their shrieks soon filled the beach, sending a colorful flock of Oricorio fleeing for the skies in fright of the Ghosts.

“Amazing,” Ivy said, awed by their teamwork and even more by their surprising Dark typing. She had never heard of Persian and Meowth being Dark types. It must have been some sort of regional variant unseen in Kanto and Johto.

One Persian, the apparent leader among all the others, growled and hissed at the last of the sandy Ghosts as they receded, the rest of his clowder gathered at his back. Soon, there was no trace left of the strange beach Ghosts, and the cats regrouped. Ivy saw her chance and sprinted to the spot where Meowth had dropped her stolen Marsh Badge. She scooped it up half buried in the sand, but not without attracting Persian’s ire.

He pounced, hissing and spitting, and even Houndoom’s bared teeth with the threat of Fire Fang didn’t deter him. He was nearly of a size with Houndoom, larger than typical Kantoan Persians, and his fur coat was fluffed out to make him appear even bigger.

“Whoa there, kitty,” Ivy said. “You’re a big kitty...”

Persian snarled, and Ivy laid a hand on Houndoom’s flank to get him to back off a little. Persian’s dark eyes flickered to the sparkling Marsh Badge in Ivy’s hand, and she waved it around.

“You like this, huh? Worth slaughtering a bunch of Ghosts for?” Ivy grinned. “Okay, if you like it so much, try and take it.” She held out her hand for Persian. “But you know what I am, don’t you?”

The other Persian and Meowth gathered around watched, ready to move but cautious as they watched Ivy.

“Yeah, you all know,” Ivy said. Dark-type Pokémon always saw her for what she really was.

The head Persian stared unblinking at Ivy and the Marsh Badge, but in the end he decided it wasn’t worth taking her on. He calmed down a little, but his fur remained on end, almost comically poofy. Was it naturally like that? He was kind of cute in an overfed housecat sort of way.

Something spooked the cats all of a sudden, and Houndoom barked in warning. The sands underfoot shifted again, and Ivy’s first thought was that the Ghosts were back. You couldn’t kill what was already dead, after all, not even with an army of Dark kitties. But what rose up now was no mere ripple, but a truly enormous wall of sand. It grew bigger and bigger before Ivy’s eyes as the smaller sandy Ghosts joined together. Two black pits formed its eyes, and its head grew into a spiky crown, a little like a sand castle’s turret. But most horrifying of all was its huge gaping maw, a black hole that sucked in air and sand and seemed to scream in a thousand anguished voices. Within, Ivy could see movement, pale fronds of light, the flickers of another world beyond the vortex.

“Oh, shit,” Ivy said, backing up as the undead sand castle grew large enough to block out the sun.

Despite their numbers, the Meowth meowed in fear and began to turn tail for the jungle. Their Persian leaders hissed and spat, but they too were wary of the towering Ghost come to exact its revenge. The fleeing felines drew the Ghost’s ire, and it turned on them with icy ruthlessness. The sands churned all around, driven by the Ghost’s malevolence, and rose in golden pennons that came down hard on the cats like lashes. The cats scattered under the Ghost’s enormous Earth Power attack, and the sands sucked them back, closer to it.

It happened so fast that there was nothing to be done. The Meowth trapped in the Ghost’s sandy tendrils were drawn into its howling mouth, where their bodies contorted and shrank as their life forces were sucked out of them in mere seconds. Desiccated bones and fur sank into the Ghost’s body, buried under its girth, and impossibly, it grew even larger as it gorged on them.

“Son of a bitch,” Ivy spat, shocked at the speed of the Ghost’s ravenous attack. “This thing’s gotta go.”

The leader Persian had retaken charge of his clowder somewhat. The Meowth were herded back to the jungle, while their evolved superiors flocked to their leader in spite of their palpable fear. They began Feint Attacking the shifting sands, counting on their numbers and teamwork to bring it down as they had its lesser forms, but this Ghost was too big and too powerful to succumb to their successive physical attacks. They needed something just as big and powerful to match the Ghost before it consumed any more of the cats.

Ivy tossed out Tyranitar’s Pokéball, and the ancient green dinosaur landed with a low _thud_ in the sand. Towering twice her height, he was a monster among monsters and Ivy’s oldest and strongest Pokémon. His face, scarred from that battle she’d fought so long ago against the Marsh Badge’s former keeper, looked all the more menacing as he bared his fangs and roared in challenge at the sandy Ghost. Houndoom was quick to flank him, and Wigglytuff remained near Ivy, cautious.

The Ghost sensed the threat Ivy and her Pokémon posed and soon turned its attention to her. Before she knew what hit her, the winds and sands shifted, and she went flying through air, sucked in by the Ghost’s enormous power to be devoured for her life force. She screamed as true fear made her flail helplessly, but Tyranitar jumped after her and grabbed her in his armored arms before she could be sucked in. His impact with the Ghost’s body sent painful tremors through her skull, and she heard the Ghost wail in pain where Tyranitar smacked it with a Dragon Tail attack, his glowing red tail cleaving through sand and decay like a hot knife through butter. Bones rattled, and Ivy was sick at the sight of old yellowed bones that came pouring out of the hole Tyranitar had made. Some of those skulls were undeniably human, still partly covered in patches of sallow leathery skin and hair.

Ivy clung to Tyranitar as he landed and shielded her from the Ghost’s pull. She spit blood where she’d bit her tongue and glared up at the Ghost. “Okay, now I’m pissed.”

Wigglytuff and Houndoom had joined the Persian in their assault on the sand, adding their attacks to the cats’ efforts with little effect. Ivy patted Tyranitar’s chest.

“Come on, big guy.”

Tyranitar bellowed, his rage mounting at the prospect of bloodshed. The informally dubbed Insolent Pokémon began to leak dark energy from between his thick plated scales in anticipation as he lumbered after Ivy toward the dueling cats.

“Houndoom!” Ivy called.

Houndoom barked, but he had to jump to avoid another sand pennon coming down on him. The Ghost was using the sand like tentacles to scatter its attackers and stymie their coordinated attacks, all the while building up power for a massive Shadow Ball attack from its maw.

 _If it fires that Shadow Ball, we’re all dead,_ Ivy thought grimly.

But time was not on their side, and the Ghost was nearly charged enough to unleash its attack right in the middle of the gathered Persian. Ivy drew her switch blade again.

“Hey, Persian! Get out of there!”

But the cats didn’t listen to her as they attempted to redouble their efforts. The Ghost began to emanate an ominous violet smoke as its power gathered and became almost too much for even its large body to hold in for much longer.

“Houndoom, Wigglytuff! Take cover!” Ivy commanded as she slit her palm and pressed her bloody hand to Tyranitar’s chest.

The leader of the Persian smelled her blood and bared his teeth in a hiss, but there was no time to worry about him or the other cats. Before her eyes, Tyranitar began to transform and grow. Jagged horns and spikes bloomed from his shoulders, back, and tail, and her blood seeped into his belly and dyed the scales a bright crimson. Brimming with dark energy, he faced the overgrown Ghost without fear, and not a moment too soon.

The Ghost launched its massive purple Shadow Ball, and the world dimmed as it descended on Ivy, her Pokémon, and the cats with alarming speed like some great black sun. The Persian meowed in fright, but even with their speed they could not outrun the blast range.

“Mega Tyranitar!” Ivy shouted to be heard over the Ghost’s spooky wailing. “Pay it back!”

Mega Tyranitar, for all his weight and girth, leaped into the air with a roar at her command. He swung his meaty fist and met the Shadow Ball head-on. The blowback was fierce and knocked Ivy to the ground, where she fell on Wigglytuff and had to hold onto the wriggling pink rabbit before she blew away.

The shell shock was deafening. One moment, Mega Tyranitar disappeared within the churning shadows above, and the next the massive ball of twisting energy exploded as though a bomb had gone off inside it. Ivy covered her ears, which did little good, and watched as the Shadow Ball veered off course back the way it had come, leaking terrible dark energy that consumed it like black fire. The Ghost wailed and split, fearful of the backlash from its own deadly attack, but it was too slow to avoid the brunt of the damage. A hurricane of violet and black energy slammed into it, beaten back by Mega Tyranitar’s Payback punch two-fold. Sand flew everywhere and covered everything. Ivy had to close her eyes and look away as she shielded Wigglytuff with her body and Houndoom shielded her.

When the ringing began to fade and the winds had died down, she dared to look. Mega Tyranitar had landed on his feet, panting but okay as he stood defiantly between the Ghost and Ivy. She got up, woozy from the shell shock, and staggered to him.

“Mega Tyranitar,” she said, her words slurred as her head spun.

The armor on his clawed hands and arms was cracked and bleeding from the surge of power and contact with the Shadow Ball. If he were anything but a Dark-type Pokémon, she knew the damage would have been much worse. Her own arms bled from numerous shallow cuts and her bones ached and burned, the shared pain of Mega Evolution taking its toll.

Mega Tyranitar didn’t acknowledge Ivy, however. His attention was still on the Ghost, which was miraculously beginning to reform. Everywhere, the bones of its victims were scattered where they’d blasted free of its dense body. The mangled bodies of a few Meowth and Persian consumed just minutes ago and still fresh lay bleeding, and their living brethren hissed as they circled them, unable to do anything for their dead.

“Fucking sand castle doesn’t know when to stay smashed,” Ivy said through gritted teeth. She glanced that the Persian gathering close, drawn to Mega Tyranitar’s powerful aura. “We need a bigger boot...”

Houndoom trotted to her side after shaking the sand from his fur and growled, ready to fight. Mega Tyranitar had some fight left in him, too, but to wipe out this Ghost for good, they’d need help.

“Persian!” Ivy said to the leader of the clowder. “You want to protect the rest of your family, right? So help me stop this thing!”

Persian looked wary, but the Ghost was nearly reformed despite its lost volume. It looked madder than ever and opened its mouth to begin sucking in air and anything else that might get caught up in its vacuum.

“Now or never, Persian! I'm just trying to help you, so please!”

The Ghost reared up, and Ivy couldn’t wait any longer. She and Wigglytuff took cover behind Mega Tyranitar.

“Dark Pulse! Give it everything you got!” 

Mega Tyranitar and Houndoom combined their power to hit the Ghost with a baleful black beam of energy that grew as their power mingled. The Ghost screamed where the attack hit it, but even with the two of them, it wasn’t enough to disperse it. Incredibly, it was actually taking control of the sands again to suck them all under with another Earth Power. A huge crag opened up in the sand, and some of the bones and twisted bodies once buried with in the Ghost fell in to their doom.

Ivy had to move to avoid the same fate, and she fell running through the shifting sands. The ground opened up to swallow her, but the leader Persian Tackled her safely out of the way. Groaning and in pain from the impact, Ivy stared up at the fluffy cat standing over her. He was so close that she could have touched him, but he was soon gone again and landed next to Mega Tyranitar. Something she said must have gotten through to him, because he unleashed a Dark Pulse of his own that joined with Mega Tyranitar’s and Houndoom’s. Ivy watched in awe as the other Persian took their cue from him and resumed the attack against the Ghost, hitting it from all angles with Feint Attacks and Dark Pulses without pause. From the jungle, some of the scrappy Meowth even emerged to join the fight, emboldened by the others, and did what they could to Scratch and Bite at the flying ribbons of deadly sand.

“That’s it!” Ivy said, getting up. “Bury the son of a bitch!”

And bury it they did. Under the combined power of Ivy’s Pokémon and the cats, the sandy Ghost could not maintain its form and dissolved. The waves washed over it, carrying the bones of its victims out to their watery graves, and the eerie screaming abated. As soon as it had begun, it was over. The tide was coming in slowly, washing away the lumpy piles of sand back to sea, as though they had never been here.

Ivy was sweating from the exertion and the heat of the sun, and her arms throbbed, caked with her blood. Her hair was a mess and she was covered in sand, and she sank to the ground to sit.

The Meowth and Persian were on the beach, sniffing at the remains of the Ghost’s victims and mourning their own dead, a few of whom remained on the beach. Ivy watched, fascinated, as they slowly pushed the bones into the water to be carried out with the tide, a kind of funeral. It was quiet now, so quiet, and she didn’t speak so as not to interrupt their ritual. Her Pokémon gathered around her, with Houndoom sitting down next to her and Mega Tyranitar hovering over them. Ivy fiddled with the Marsh Badge, its golden face catching the sunlight brilliantly.

“Maybe nothing’s changed, after all,” she wondered, remembering the last time she’d risked her life for this trinket.

The cats came closer and gathered around. Intrigued, Ivy got to her feet and dusted herself off as their leader approached her. His paws were huge, as big as her own hands, and his face was so round and fluffy that it was almost difficult to take him seriously as a predator, unlike his lithe Kantoan counterpart. But she’d seen his power first hand and knew better now.

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” she said to the cats. They had lost nearly a third of their number to the rapacious sand spirit. “But...thanks for the help.”

She held out the Marsh Badge to the leader Persian. “I can’t give this to you, but I could offer you something just as good. You like to fight, don’t you? You’re good at it.”

Persian watched her with sleepy eyes. The blue jewel on his forehead shimmered in the sunlight, beautiful. He was close enough to touch, so she took a chance and reached out. His fur was even softer than it looked, thick and luxurious. And he had that glimmer, that familiar feeling Ivy got when she came into contact with a Dark Pokémon. Connection, recognition, like meeting an old friend after so many lonely years apart.

“You’re a protector,” she said, tracing his rounded ear. “That’s why you fight. That’s why I fight, too. To protect the people I love. Even if they don’t know they need it.”

Persian pushed his head against her palm, purring softly. Ivy smiled. It was a long time since she’d put a new Pokémon on her team. She had a place for one and an empty Pokéball that had once belonged to an Umbreon she’d loved more than anything. But that was a very long time ago.

She showed Persian the empty Pokéball she’d kept with her all these years, unable or unwilling to fill it with a new Pokémon. Maybe it was time. Maybe it was okay.

Persian disappeared within the Pokéball when she touched it to his nose. The rest of the cats watched in silence, and when it was done, they slowly retreated to the jungle. A Meowth was the last to go, perhaps the one who had stolen her Marsh Badge and started all this. Ivy watched him go, too, and soon she was alone on the beach surrounded by half-buried bones and her tired team of Pokémon, plus one.

She clutched Umbreon’s Pokéball, now Persian’s Pokéball, to her chest and breathed. “Welcome to the team, Persian.”

By the time Ivy made her way back to the Hano Grand Resort, she was worried Gary would have done something stupid like headed back to their room to work, but when she showed up back at the beach beds they had been using with Persian in tow, she was pleasantly surprised to find that all their belongings were still there. Gary, however, was not.

“Where’d he go?” Ivy wondered.

Persian padded along beside her as she wandered down to the water where a small crowd of people had gathered. Curious, Ivy went to investigate. She got there just in time to see Gary and Espeon chucking three Pyukumuku into the sea via Espeon’s Confusion. The Pyukumuku wriggled and grunted in surprise as they were magically flung through the air into the sea. An older couple tipped Gary a couple bills and thanked him before continuing with their walk along the water, the path now cleared. Ivy could only stare.

“Gary Oak, what are you doing?”

Gary noticed her standing there and headed over, a sweaty wad of cash in hand. “Oh, there are you. What happened to you? Did you go for a run or something? You’re sweating. Are those cuts on your arms?”

Ivy snatched the cash from his hand and counted the bills. “What the— There’s over a hundred here!”

Gary smirked. “I got another two hundred in my pocket. Pyukumuku chucking goes a lot faster with a Psychic’s help.”

Espeon was more curious about Persian, who was twice his size and completely uninterested as he dug in the sand for an old bottle cap that caught his eye.

“You hypocrite! Price gouging the Pyukumuku chucking was _my_ idea!”

Gary shrugged. “I didn’t do it for the money. I’m pretty sure that waiter was lying about there being professional chuckers around here. I haven’t seen a single one, and I chucked about seventy Pyukumuku in the last hour.”

 _I’ve created a monster,_ Ivy thought, wanting to be mad but also strangely proud.

“Maybe there’s a conman in you yet,” Ivy teased.

“Don’t get excited. I’m giving this money to the wait staff. Maybe they’ll put it toward an actual Pyukumuku chucking fund.”

“Whatever, I still can’t believe you did this without me.”

“You disappeared. Where’d you go? Wait, is that a Persian?”

Ivy accepted the bottle cap Persian had dug up and flipped it. She gave him a scratch behind the ears, and he began to purr. “I recovered my stolen property, toppled a giant sand castle, and caught a Dark Persian.”

“Wait, what?”

“Isn’t he cute? His face is so fat because it’s full of secrets.” She kneeled down and ran her fingers through Persian’s furry cheeks, causing him to purr louder.

Espeon was looking up at Gary like he wanted a cheek rub, too.

“...Okay, I need that Pinap Colada now,” Gary said, rubbing his head.

“Great idea! We can use the cash you earned.”

“Ivy,” he said in a warning tone.

“Oh come _on_ , that’s honest cash! It even smells honest.” She sniffed at the thick stack of bills in her hand.

Gary patted his pockets and flushed when he realized she’d nabbed the two hundred without his noticing. “ _Ivy_.”

“Hey, waiter! Yeah, I’m talking to you, cutie!” She flagged down a passing waiter with the huge stack of cash. “Can I get a menu?”

“Ivy!”

She laughed as he caught up to her.

* * *

 

Lillie arrived at Selene’s house the morning of their planned departure wearing her original white dress, freshly washed and pressed if not a little worn. When Selene answered the door, Nebby tried to “hug” her, but this time Selene anticipated the odd Pokémon’s exuberance and stepped aside. Nebby ran smack into the wall and knocked over a picture frame.

“Nebby! Be careful, please!” Lillie said, rushing inside to pick up the frame.

“Good morning to you, too,” Selene said, shutting the door.

“I’m really sorry, Selene. Nebby has so much energy lately. She’s not usually like this. I think maybe it’s this place, all the excitement, I don’t know. Oh, will you sit still?” She got ahold of Nebby, but Nebby Teleported out of her grasp a few feet away and chimed.

“Selene, who’s at the door?” called Lani from the kitchen.

“It’s Lillie, Mom. Without Hau and Professor Kukui.”

Lillie heard the implied question and turned to face her. “Oh, right, about that. Professor Kukui said he was going ahead to Hau'oli Harbor, so I should go find you and Hau...”

Lillie trailed off as her eyes fell to Selene’s exposed hands. It took Selene a moment to realize that she’d always had her gloves on around Lillie, and this was probably the first time she was seeing them exposed. From the way Lillie was staring, it was clear that she didn’t quite understand.

“Hau’s not here,” Selene said, watching Lillie carefully. “He’s probably at his house up in Iki Town. We better go make sure he’s even awake yet.”

“I... That’s, um...” Lillie was still staring at Selene’s hands, unable to look away.

Selene clenched her teeth at the instinctual spike of annoyance.

“Selene, why don’t you bring Lillie in here?” Lani called from the kitchen again.

Lillie realized she’d been rudely staring and flushed, averting her gaze. “Ah, I um...”

Selene turned her back on Lillie, her mood souring. It wasn’t even nine in the morning and she had a feeling this day was only going to get worse. “This way,” she said gruffly, not waiting.

Lillie followed her into the kitchen, where Lani was busy pouring out some coffee for them. The table was littered with tools and materials for Lani’s jewelry crafting. Dartrix was snoozing on his perch by the counter and didn’t even notice Selene and Lillie entering. Nebby was so excited to see him that she zoomed right in, chiming, but was instantly distracted by all the coral and gems on the table.

“Lillie, good morning. It’s very nice to meet you finally,” Lani said with a smile. She held out a fresh mug of coffee. “Would you like a cup? I just brewed some.”

Lillie made to accept the cup, but she balked when she saw Lani’s exposed hand grasping the handle and dropped it. The ceramic mug shattered on the floor and spilled hot coffee everywhere. Dartrix hooted in surprise.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Lillie said.

“It’s all right, dear,” Lani said. “Accidents happen, it’s nothing to worry about.”

Lillie was frozen to her spot staring at the mess. Selene bent down to gather the shattered pieces while Lani got a mop from the closet. She also retrieved a pair of yellow gloves from the closet and discreetly slipped them on. Selene felt her mood blacken even more at the sight.

“I’m sorry,” Lillie apologized again. “I was just startled, I think...”

“You know? I never liked that mug, anyway,” Lani joked as she began mopping up the spilled coffee. “If anything, you did me a favor.”

Selene reached around Lillie to toss the broken mug pieces in the trash, and Lillie scrambled back a few steps to give her room.

 _Seriously?_ Selene thought, letting her anger simmer.

“Um, I was told you lent me those clothes to wear,” Lillie stammered, wringing her hands and looking at her feet. “Thank you for helping me. I... I’m sorry to be such a burden.”

Selene coughed, and Lani shot her a reproachful look.

“Not at all, dear. We were in a position to help you, and so of course it was our pleasure.”

“You, um, you’re Tamers...?” Lillie struggled to get the words out.

“We’re Velenos,” Selene said a little more forcefully than was really necessary.

Lillie looked a little surprised, and when she met Selene’s gaze briefly, her green eyes were wide with fear. Mistrust. Worry. Selene held her gaze.

_Look my hands again, I fucking dare you._

She didn’t know why it made her so angry, that look she’d seen a thousand times before on others, but it did. After everything she had done to help Lillie, was this the thanks she deserved?

Lani chose something from the table that clinked softly in her gloved hands. “I’m told you’re leaving us today for Heahea City,” she said gently. “I’m sorry to see you departing so soon, but I hope you find your brother there.”

“Oh, yes, thank you...”

Lani held out her hand and the trinket in it to Lillie. “I make jewelry for a living. Selene and her Pokémon help me gather coral and other natural treasures from the sea. She brought me this the other day, and I couldn’t help but work on it right away.”

Lillie gasped. “It’s beautiful! Is that a prism scale?”

Lani had finished the prism scale pendant after hours of work. She’d been up when Selene went to bed and was still up when Selene came down for breakfast this morning. The pendant was simple but elegant. The prism scale was set in a hammered silver triangle, paper-thin, and hung on a silver chain. When it moved, it shimmered with every color on the spectrum like a true prism.

“It is,” Lani said, the pride evident in her tone. “I’d like you to have it, Lillie.”

Selene stared at Lani in shock. The prism scale was highly sought after, easily more valuable than the pearls Kahale had returned to them the other night.

“What? Oh my goodness, I couldn’t possibly accept something so beautiful,” Lillie said.

“I insist. Here, it will bring out those lovely green eyes of yours.” Lani handed her the pendant, and Lillie had no choice but to take it or drop it. This time, she was not so clumsy.

“Mom, are you sure?” Selene said.

“A gift once given cannot be refused,” Lani said. “Think of it as a token of your time here on Melemele Island, Lillie. Even though you came to us under unfortunate circumstances, I hope you’ll remember your time here fondly.”

Lillie smiled and nodded. “I will, thank you! Goodness, I don’t know what to say. It’s so lovely.”

“Say you’ll keep an eye on Selene for me,” Lani said. “It’s always best to have friends around to look out for each other, don't you think so?”

“Yes, I do. I mean, I will. Thank you.”

Selene had had enough of this ridiculous charade. “I’m going to get Hau. Mom, I’ll be back in a few days.”

“All right, have fun!”

Selene recalled Dartrix and didn’t wait for Lillie as she headed for the door, grabbed her bag, and slipped on her shoes.

“Oh, um, I guess we’re going,” Lillie said to Lani. “Goodbye, Ms. Lani!”

Selene barely heard the greeting as she headed outside and began hiking north toward Iki Town. Soon, she heard the clacking of Lillie’s fashionably impractical heels as she jogged to catch up.

“Selene, wait up!”

Selene didn’t slow down, and Lillie was forced to run up the hill to catch up, panting. She was wearing the prism scale pendant, and it caught the sunlight brilliantly with every step she took. When Selene said nothing to her, she broke the silence after catching her breath.

“So, um, Hau lives in Iki Town, right?”

“Mm,” Selene grunted her assent.

“And he’s Kahuna Hala’s grandson, too? That’s really amazing.”

Selene said nothing. The beach trail led into the lightly wooded stretch of northern Route One, and the Pikipek were hard at work pecking the trees in search of tasty Grubbin larvae to feast on. It was another beautiful day in paradise without a cloud in the sky, but Selene couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it.

“So, your mom was really nice,” Lillie said.

Selene again said nothing. By now, she could feel Lillie’s awkwardness emanating from her like a bad smell.

“Um, Selene? Are you... Is something the matter?”

Selene could have laughed in her face. Instead of answering, she released Vileplume to walk alongside her. Route One was patrolled by Kahuna Hala’s acolytes, but it never hurt to have a Pokémon close by as an extra deterrent. Vileplume’s poisonous odor would deter even the bolder Gumshoos if they came sniffing around.

Lillie faltered at the sight of the venomous Flower Pokémon, though Nebby didn’t seem to mind. Vileplume ambled alongside Selene, and they slowed their pace a little to stay together.

“I train a full team of Poison-type Pokémon,” Selene said. “Like most Velenos.”

“Oh,” Lillie said, not knowing what else to say.

After that, there was silence. Iki Town was not far, but with every step Selene could feel Lillie’s mood sinking. It should have made her feel better, but it didn’t.

 _It’s her own fault,_ she thought stubbornly.

Lani’s advice to her niggled at the back of her mind. _“Maybe one person can’t change the entire world. But if you can change the heart of one person, you can change their entire world.”_

It was a nice sentiment, she supposed, but probably little more than an empty platitude. Change was a two-way street. The best teacher in the world would be useless when confronted with a student unwilling to learn. And besides, Lillie was a grown woman. She had no excuse.

Even so, she couldn’t help but think Lani would disagree. She’d given Lillie that pendant, after all. _Mom, what the hell were you thinking?_

Lost in thought, Selene was surprised to see Iki Town’s outskirts just ahead. She’d lost track of time, and they had arrived. She stopped and unshouldered her bag. When Lillie stopped to wait and see what the matter was, Selene retrieved a pair of long black gloves and slipped them on. She then recalled Vileplume. Lillie watched it all in silence.

“Hau’s place is this way,” Selene said, suddenly uncomfortable. The sooner they had Hau with them to keep the peace, the better.

“Okay,” was all Lillie said as she fell into step with Selene once more.

Iki Town was the largest of Hau'oli City’s suburbs and the only one with an official name. Melemele Island was sparsely populated outside of Hau'oli City, and most villages around the island boasted only a handful of homes and farms. Iki Town was home to about a thousand people, including the island’s Kahuna. It bordered some ruins to the north, a sacred place access to which was restricted except for special religious holidays. The houses were old and built by hand, wood and stone with thatched palm roofs, and the town’s center boasted a community park often used in various town festivals and celebrations, most notably wrestling matches. Kahuna Hala was a world champion wrestler in his youth, but even now he sometimes fought matches for purely ceremonial value. The Hariyama-inspired style was an island tradition going back centuries, as old as Hala’s Bellator family line itself.

Today, there were families and even a couple tourists enjoying the beautiful summer day in the park, and everything was quiet and peaceful. Selene bypassed the park and headed for the homes to the west, where Hau lived with Hala. Nebby, however, had other plans.

“Nebby, wait! Where are you going?” Lillie said as she chased after the glittering Psychic.

Nebby was quickly Teleporting north in the direction of the ruins, and soon she was far out of reach.

“Damnit,” Selene said. “Doesn’t Nebby have a Pokéball or something?” Before Lillie could answer, Selene took off running. “Come on!” She released Dartrix, who came out flying. “Dartrix, go after Nebby!”

Dartrix hooted and flew ahead. Lillie lagged behind in her heeled boots, so Selene went on ahead after Dartrix and Nebby, hoping the latter wouldn’t get them all into trouble. The ruins were restricted due to the precarious ledges that posed a hazard to people, and there was no way Selene was risking her skin going in after Nebby.

Iki Town gave way to thicker jungle as the path uphill twisted ever north, and soon Selene came upon the entrance to the ruins. The stone monolith that marked the entrance was weathered and ancient, once painted bright orange and yellow in the style of its inspiration, the Guardian Deity Tapu Koko. Now, the statue guarding the entrance resembled a lumpy boulder with vague chiseled carvings no longer intelligible to the layman’s eye. Selene doubled over to catch her breath. Dartrix was perched on a nearby tree branch, and Nebby had stopped to admire the statue and the person who was already there kneeling before a small incense altar.

“Nebby!” Lillie shouted, out of breath as she hurried to catch up to Selene.

The man turned to see who had disturbed him. “Selene?”

“Hala,” Selene greeted the old Kahuna. “Morning.”

Kahuna Hala was a big man with a gaping belly so round he couldn’t clasp his hands around the front of it. His hair had gone white in his old age, and his face was leathery and hard. He was a stern, proud man who took his position as Melemele Island’s protector very seriously, but he was known around the island for his giving and compassionate nature, especially with children. Most the of the local children called him “tutu,” though he had only one true grandson.

“Nebby, honestly! Sir, I’m so sorry if Nebby disturbed you,” Lillie said, finally getting Nebby’s attention.

“I was just finishing my morning prayers,” Hala said. “It’s no trouble, but the ruins are restricted. You really shouldn’t be here.”

Lillie took a moment to look at him and gasped. “Oh! K-Kahuna Hala! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you at first!”

Hala regarded her a moment. “I don’t recognize you, either. Are you visiting Iki Town? Miss...”

“Lillie,” Lillie said, flustered. “I’m Lillie.”

“You’re Selene’s friend?”

“Um...”

“We’re looking for Hau,” Selene interjected. “We’re supposed to drop Lillie off in Heahea City this afternoon.”

“Heahea City? He didn’t mention anything."

Selene frowned. “He didn’t?”

“Nebby, please come here,” Lillie said. “We can’t go in there, okay?”

Nebby looked like she wanted to venture deeper into the ruins, but Lillie had her in her arms and wouldn’t let her go.

“Lillie, right?” Hala said. “What is that Pokémon you have?”

“Oh, Nebby? She’s, um, well, she’s a rare Pokémon. I mean, Cosmog is her real name; Nebby’s just a nickname.”

“I’ve never heard of such a Pokémon.”

“Oh, well, she’s a very rare Pokémon,” Lillie repeated herself unhelpfully.

“Is Hau at home?” Selene asked.

“He is.” Hala glanced at Selene askance, his dark eyes hard and unreadable. “Had I known you were going to Heahea City, I would have made sure he woke up earlier.”

Selene said nothing to that. Hala had always been a figure in her life here both as the Kahuna and as Hau’s grandfather, but Hala himself had never warmed to Selene, even when she and Hau became close. He was cordial and respectful, but never friendly the way Kukui was. He tolerated Selene’s presence in his grandson’s life, but he would never be “tutu” to her the way he was to the local children.

“Um, Kahuna Hala, sir?” Lillie asked. “What are these ruins? I’ve just never seen Nebby so excited about something, so I was wondering...”

Hala turned to admire the weathered statue of Tapu Koko. Smoke from the incense he’d lit curled in a pale ribbon. “Yes, the ruins... Many have been enchanted by this place over the years. Your Pokémon is far from the first. This is Tapu Koko’s sacred shrine.”

“Tapu Koko,” Lillie repeated. “The Guardian Deity? I was never very good with history, but I always found it interesting."

“Our ancestors built this shrine in honor of Tapu Koko many centuries ago. That was back when Alola was ruled by a monarchy.”

“Oh, so your family is descended from royalty? Is that why you became the Kahuna?”

Hala chuckled. “Not exactly. My ancestors served the monarchy. We were four Tamer families, one for each of Alola’s four islands. The Bellators protected Melemele Island, and it’s continued over the years ever since. The monarchy fell, but like our great islands, we’ve endured. Just like Tapu Koko itself, if you believe the tales.”

Lillie seemed intrigued by his story. “That’s incredible. Your family’s protected the island for so long. So, um...does that mean you’ve met Tapu Koko?”

Hala regarded her, bemused. “Now, that’s an interesting question. None of the Tapus has been seen in centuries, and most believe them to be dead, if they even existed at all.” He worried at his short beard. “Mm, but me, well... Years ago, when I was perhaps a bit younger than you, I met Tapu Koko in a dream. Perhaps to you it sounds like an old man’s silly reminiscing, but even so, I knew from that day that I would become Kahuna after my father. And sure enough, I did.”

Lillie smiled. “I don’t think that’s silly at all.”

“Well, it’s kind of you to say so.”

“So, I guess that means one day Hau will become Kahuna, too. I’d like to see that.”

Hala remained silent for a moment, but Nebby got free again and began flying around.

“Nebby, please come back! Do you really want to ride around in my bag again?” she threatened.

Selene watched Hala quietly, and he felt her gaze. All the mirth was gone from his expression, and he simply looked tired, like any other old man going through the motions of life without really feeling them. Selene wanted to say something, but nothing she said would change anything. Not for her, and certainly not for Hau.

“I’m heading back home, anyway,” Hala said at length. “Come along.”

Lillie got Nebby to calm down finally and come quietly, and they fell into step behind Hala. He said nothing to them as he greeted the townspeople they passed, and Selene and Lillie were left to watch. Lillie was quiet but pensive, and Selene noticed her observing Hala. He was jovial and friendly with all he passed, inquiring after this person’s health or that family’s new baby. He knew everyone in Iki Town, names and faces and histories, and he was well loved.

“Did I say something wrong?” Lillie asked discreetly.

Selene frowned. “What?”

“Kahuna Hala. He seemed put off when I mentioned Hau.”

“Yeah,” Selene said, swallowing the tickle of annoyance in her throat. _If she’s not an idiot, then what was all that crap back home?_ “Hau’s never gonna be the Kahuna.”

“What? But he just said all that about his family, so I just assumed...”

“Hau’s a skuff. The Kahuna’s always been a pure-blooded Bellator. It’s as simple as that.”

Lillie looked genuinely affronted. “But that’s... That’s not fair. It’s not Hau’s fault he was born a certain way, so why...?”

Selene narrowed her eyes and wondered if Lillie even heard herself. “No, it’s not his fault. And it’s not fair at all.”

Lillie looked at her strangely, like she wanted to say something more, but Selene showed her her back and continued on ahead. Her fingers itched in her gloves, and she had the urge to hug her arms close to hide them from sight.

Hau’s house was just ahead, and when they got to the front porch, he came barreling out like he had Durant in his pants.

“Selene, Lillie! Howzit!” he greeted, his bright smile plastered across his face. Togedemaru rolled out the door between his feet. “Oh, hey Tutu! Did you pray at the ruins today?”

“I did. I was also informed that you’re going on a trip to Akala Island,” Hala said.

Hau laughed. “Yeah, I didn’t tell you before? Lillie’s gotta go meet up with her brother, so me ‘n Selene’re gonna see her there. Prof’s comin’ too. Oh hey, ladies, we gotta get going!”

“Says the guy who’s gonna be late for his own funeral. We were supposed to meet up an hour ago,” Selene said. But she couldn’t help but feel her spirits lift at the sight of Hau’s smile and good cheer. No matter how shitty her day was going, she could always count on Hau to brighten things up.

“‘Ey, cut me some slack, yeah?”

“Good morning, Hau,” Lillie said, smiling softly. “I’m sorry to rush you.”

“Nah, no rush! Well, we should prolly rush a _little_ before Prof decides to leave without us!”

“Hau,” Selene said, indicating Hala.

“Uh, right, haha. So Tutu, it’s cool if I go, right? Just a few days?”

Hala grunted. “You’re eighteen, Hau. A man grown. You don’t need my permission to go, clearly.”

Hau winced. “Yeah, sorry, your roof, your rules. I shoulda mentioned it yesterday...”

“It’s fine. I’d just like to know your plans if you’re leaving for a few days. Did you at least da kine before you’re going?”

“Ahhh, haha, I was _just_ gonna go do that, I swear! Be right back!”

Selene and Lillie had to wait for Hau for another ten minutes while he washed his dirty breakfast dishes and loaded the dish washer. When they were finally off to Hau'oli City, Hau did what he did best and began to talk at a mile a minute about anything that passed through his mind. With him in the middle, Selene could breathe easier knowing he would keep Lillie entertained.

Hau'oli City was a healthy walk southwest of Iki Town. The largest human settlement on Melemele Island home to some 200,000 people, the population doubled in the summer months due to the influx of tourists. It had all the trappings of a typical city, from a small but busy financial district, high rise apartment buildings, and a robust night life, especially in summer. Though smaller than the much more cosmopolitan Heahea and Malie Cities, Hau'oli boasted world-class beaches that proudly rivaled the best in Alola and Hoenn.

The trio made their way through the crowd downtown on Sunny Shore Drive, the main street that bordered the beach. The Hau'oli Harbor was on the other side of town, so on the way Lillie got to experience a little of Hau'oli City.

“Wow, it’s so small!” Lillie commented. “More of a town than a city.”

Hau gaped at her. “Huh?! Small, really? This is the biggest city on the island!”

Lillie laughed. “Sorry, I guess compared to Heahea and even Konikoni, this place feels cozy.”

“Man, cozy? Seriously?”

Selene tuned out their conversation and stuffed her gloved hands in her pockets. They passed many people, some glancing their way and others too absorbed in their own conversations. Some took a closer look at her, and to them she stared right back. But no one said anything to her, and she continued on her way.

_What’s wrong with me today? I’m not usually this tense._

It had been a weird day since she got up, though. It would pass, she hoped. The sooner they deposited Lillie on Akala Island, the sooner things would go back to normal, like it never happened. Even so, the mystery surrounding Lillie still nagged at her. After this morning, though, she wasn’t too keen on approaching Lillie, even to find out more about her story. Maybe everything would be better once all this was over.

Hau suggested they stop for lunch, but Selene insisted they grab food to go since they were already running late. By the time they reached the harbor, it was afternoon and Kukui was waiting for them aboard the _Springtime Youth._

“Alola!” he called, waving. “All aboard, all aboard! Don’t be shy!”

Lillie took one look at the _Springtime Youth_ and balked. “Th-This is your boat? It’s so, um...”

“Old,” Selene said bluntly. “Uninsured. Definitely a safety hazard.”

“Well, yes,” Lillie said.

“Nonsense! She’s completely safe. Sturdy as a Boldore, too,” Kukui assured them.

Hau climbed aboard. “S’long as I can feel the wind in my face, I’m game!”

“That’s the spirit, Hau! On the _Springtime Youth_ , every day is spring!”

“It’s _summer_ , Professor,” Selene grumbled.

“Plusle or Minun, they’re both cute if you ask me!”

“That’s not... You know what, never mind.” Selene climbed aboard and prayed for this trip to hurry up and be over with.

Kukui’s boat was old but well-maintained, if nothing else. It was a catamaran with a bright blue sail, big enough to transport up to ten people. He often used it to sail between Akala and Melemele Islands in order to visit his wife, who worked in Heahea City. Toucannon could have made the trip in a single flight, but Kukui loved to sail. Traveling was not a chore to him, but an experience. Selene didn’t see the appeal.

“Hey Prof, I got you a lunch box,” Hau said. “You want fish or steak?”

“Ooh, sounds tasty, cos! I’ll take the steak, thanks!”

Selene put her bag away below deck but kept her Pokéballs with her. She claimed a spot up front, put on her sunglasses, and waited for Kukui to start up the motor. It was a clunky old thing that took a couple tries to get going, but soon they were pulling out of the harbor and sailing east to Akala Island.

“Sit back, relax, and we’ll be in Heahea just after dinner time!” Kukui said enthusiastically.

“All right! This is great!” Hau said as he leaned into the wind. His top knot came loose, and his hair flapped about wildly.

Lillie, who had been wearing a large floppy hat, soon lost it to the wind and the waves, and her long hair was a mess. “Oh, my hat!”

“It’s okay, Lillie! You look better without it!” Hau called to her.

Nebby was having the time of her life in Lillie’s arms feeling the breeze and trailing star smoke behind her. Selene watched Hau'oli City dwindle behind them as they traveled away from the sun, wondering what Heahea City had in store for them.

The hours ticked by as the _Springtime Youth_ slowly made her way across the sea. The sun dipped low on the horizon, and the first stars poked out in the night sky. The crescent moon was so thin tonight that it was hardly there at all, grinning lasciviously. Selene thought about the other night and that weird shadow she’d seen under this same moon, a ripple at the corner of her vision, likely a mirage born of drowsiness. There was no ripple now, and the moon cast its wan light on the sea like rolling silver scales.

“There, you see that?” Kukui said. “Those lights’re Konikoni City. We’ll get to Akala within the hour.”

“Yes,” Lillie said wistfully. “It’s beautiful at night, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, totally,” Hau said as he snacked on some potato chips.

“I always loved this view."

“You say that like you’ve seen it a lot,” Selene said, unable to help her curiosity.

Lillie nodded, her gaze far away like she hadn’t really heard her. “Yes, from my room. My old room...”

She said no more, and Nebby chimed happily as if to agree. Selene gazed at the twilit view. It was not one she often saw from her own room. Back home, it was nothing but open ocean as far as the eye could see. The sky now was darkening by the minute, and new stars bloomed to life every time she blinked, little eyes waking from sleep to watch her. She leaned her head back against the railing, the ocean spray cool on her cheeks.

Hau and Lillie were talking, their voices muffled by the sound of the rushing water and the wind as Kukui drove the boat. Selene found herself thinking of her mother’s words again.

_“If you can change the heart of one person, you can change their entire world.”_

_Is that why you gave her the prism scale?_ Selene wondered. _To change her heart?_

It didn’t work, obviously. What was even the point? What did it matter? If one star faded from sight, there would still be a billion more left behind. What difference could one person ever make?

Selene rubbed her eyes. When she opened them again, everything was dark. She stared at the night sky, a moment ago bright with stars, but now not a single one remained. There was only the crescent moon, grinning wolfishly down at her, sharp teeth bared. Selene jerked in surprise at the sight and blinked, getting up. When she looked up again, the stars were back and the moon was once more a pale sliver, no teeth.

“What the hell?” she said, rubbing her eyes again.

“Selene? Did you say something?” Lillie said.

Selene looked at her, so bright and pale against the backdrop of the night seascape, almost shining where the moonlight reflected off her pale skin and clothes. Nebby was in her arms, her watery yellow eyes wide and fixed on Selene.

“I—” Selene began.

But the boat lurched before she could get a word out, and she lost her balance and fell hard on her knees on the deck. She gasped in pain, and soon she was soaked when a wave crashed over the side of the catamaran. Lillie screamed, and Kukui shouted something from the driver’s seat.  

Selene tried to get to her feet, but the boat lurched again and sent her rolling. Water was everywhere. Hau was calling her name somewhere, but Selene hit her head and her vision spun.

_I’m gonna throw up._

Her head pounded and nausea had her in its clutches, and she saw Nebby, a little ball of gaseous starlight, Teleport right by her head without warning as something dark and tapering curled around the air where she’d been just a moment ago.

“What...” Selene said, disbelieving her double vision. _Fingers... Tentacles?_

Tentacruel were known to attack small vessels, but they were not known to disturb the sea and cause typhoons.

_What’s going on?_

She got to her feet and saw Hau holding onto the railing. He was bleeding from the side of his head, and when he met her gaze, he shouted something she couldn’t understand. Kukui was trying frantically to get the boat under control, but orange light behind the driver’s window suggested fire.

_Are we sinking?_

Nothing made sense in her sluggish mind as her head reeled from the concussive blow.

“Look out!” Lillie screamed.

Nebby Teleported again, but Selene had barely enough time to crouch and grab hold of the railing before a huge wave came crashing down on her. The force with which it descended was unreal, and the deck cracked and groaned. Something black and slimy slithered over the deck, many black and slimy somethings. Selene’s only thought was to get away from whatever they were, whatever was causing this. She reached for the Pokéballs in her pocket just as something shattered the glass to Kukui’s driver seat and a wave of heat hit her.

Time blurred together as the boat broke in half like a splintered twig, unable to withstand the might of the angry waves. Lillie screamed and went overboard, her hands flailing wildly and reaching for the only thing she could grasp, which was Nebby. In an instant, they were gone below the waves.

“Lillie!” Hau shouted, hysterical.

Selene was moving before she could process a coherent thought. In three steps, she jumped the crag in the deck and dove overboard after Lillie. The water hit her like a brick wall, nearly knocking the air from her lungs, and her eyes stung as though someone was needling tiny knives into the sides from the salt. She pumped her arms and legs and swam deeper after Lillie, visible only thanks to her bright white dress that caught the moonlight. Nebby was caught in her arms, struggling as Lillie gagged on her breath.

The currents were fierce and sucked them both deeper, and Selene felt her ears squeeze and pop painfully. Her head was still pounding, and Lillie was blurry ahead of her as she reached out a hand. Lillie saw her for a split second and opened her mouth as if to call out, losing the last of her breath as she reached back.

The darkness opened up behind Lillie, rising up from the deep like some great black maw, and Selene saw them again, those tapering fingers with too many joints. They curled around Lillie’s arms, her legs, her throat. The prism scale around her neck shimmered in every color imaginable. Eyes peeked through the darkness, a thousand eyes as distant and bright as the stars in the sky, and they watched Selene, tiny insect feet crawling over her skin. She reached for Lillie all the same.

Nebby’s chime reached her, as clear as day, and suddenly a light bloomed from Nebby and Lillie, blinding and white-hot. The slender fingers receded from the light, and Lillie’s shape faded in the bright white. Selene opened her mouth to scream and swallowed seawater. Something hit her in the chest, knocking the last of her breath from her. The last thing she remembered before the darkness was light, endless and silent, as water filled her lungs and dragged her under.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long-time readers of my fics are already familiar with this, but I like the idea that in a realistic world, Pokémon power levels can be really different from canon. Palossand seems like he could be a crazy powerful Pokémon that could grow to staggering sizes, in theory. Even though in the games, Tyranitar might be “better” than Palossand in terms of stats, I think it’s kind of interesting to reimagine how a fight would go taking into account Palossand having the flexibility of an undead Ghost with a uniquely malleable body. I think he’d be a formidable match for any Pokémon, even ones with type advantages or Mega forms. Anyway, just some explanation since I know people have a wide range of opinions on this kind of stuff and might not agree with my interpretation.


	5. The Lazy Oak -or- Bloody Mary

The Oak family was old and proud, and with good reason. For generations, Oaks had been pioneers and innovators and winners in their various fields of expertise. Sylvia Oak had been an architect and made her name designing such famous Kantoan landmarks as Silph Co. headquarters in Saffron City and the self-sustaining greenhouse Gym in Celadon City. Alexander Oak was heavily involved in the first Pokémon nursery and rehabilitation center outside of Goldenrod City, raising a variety of Pokémon previously thought to be too dangerous for humans to interfere with. His son, Samuel Oak, was inspired by his father’s desire to understand Pokémon and coexist with them, and he went on to invent the world’s first comprehensive Pokémon encyclopedia, known as the Pokédex. Katie Oak was a world champion downhill ski racer; Peter Oak was an army physician in the Great War between Kanto and Johto; Chelsea Oak was the first President and CEO of the Lavender Town Power Plant. Gary Oak was the youngest Oak alive today, and he was making a name for himself as the Viridian City Gym Leader. In every generation spanning centuries, Oaks had been the very best like no one ever was.

And then there was Samson Oak.

Samson was the black sheep of the family, the beleaguered middle child, the night owl in a nest full of morning larks. Growing up, Gary had heard little and less about his distant relative from his grandfather, the late and great Samuel Oak, who had spent his early childhood days with Samson until the latter moved back to Heahea City to be closer to his mother’s family. It was not for lack of brains or opportunity that Samson remained relatively obscure compared to his far more famous cousin. Rather, Samson simply lacked the same hunger instilled in the very best of scientists, that desire for progress in spite of ambiguity. In short, he was the laziest, most uninspired Oak there ever was.

“I mean, that’s kinda harsh,” Ivy said as she and Gary waited in the quiet whitewashed lobby of the Heahea City Observatory. “Even for you.”

Gary was busy observing the Alolan Persian that had been following Ivy everywhere she went lately. She seemed to like having him out of his Pokéball. Which was fine, except for the shedding. Gary’s clothes were full of cat hair that would not come out no matter how many passes he made with the sticky cat roller he always kept on hand on account of Espeon. But the purple Psychic feline did not shed even a fraction of the fluff Persian did. Maybe it was the heat. All that fluff in this island weather could not be doing the big cat any favors. Gary wondered what Persian would look like after a buzz cut.

As soon as he had the thought, Persian looked up from licking his paw and fixed those sleepy-drunk dark eyes on him in that cat serial killer kind of way that all felines have, but with Persian Gary really believed it. Dark Pokémon made him a little nervous, truth be told, no matter how much time he spent with Ivy and her Pokémon. Her Umbreon had been kind of cute, the size of a regular house cat and easy-going; Persian was as big as Houndoom and plotting the downfall of a nation under all the fur, probably.

Gary couldn't take the staring contest and averted his gaze. “It’s not harsh, it’s the truth. Uncle Samson’s done well for himself, don’t get me wrong. But Gramps always said he could’ve done a lot more. It just feels like a waste.”

“Even though you’ve never met him before.”

“It’s not a personal thing. And Gramps talked about him a lot.”

“Right, because the measure of every Oak is how he compares to your grandfather.”

Ivy had a way of sounding snarky even when she was whispering how much she loved him. Over the years, he’d developed a thick skin and hardly noticed. Except when she was right, and they both knew it. He crossed his arms and legs and sat stiff-backed on the black leather sofa.

“How much longer is he going to make us wait, anyway?” Gary said, changing the subject.

Ivy rolled her eyes and appeased herself by running her fingers through Persian’s dreamy fur coat. They didn’t have to wait much longer in the end. The receptionist told them they were cleared to take the elevator to the topmost floor, where security was waiting with visitor’s passes for them.

The Observatory lived up to its name. The top floor was a functioning astrophysics laboratory full of people in jeans and flip-flops under lab coats and smocks, and above was a grating floor that ringed a huge glass eye, currently dark with the metal case closed. Gary had been to an observatory in the Orange Islands a couple years ago, but it was far smaller than this.

They waited by the entrance, but no one came to retrieve them.

“So, where is he?” Ivy asked. She’d begun chewing some gum and blew a large pink bubble. It popped in Gary’s face when he turned to look at her.

“No idea. The security guy said we had to wait here for him.”

Ivy shot him a knowing look. “It’ll be faster if we go find him.”

“Ivy, I don’t think—”

She popped another bubble, cutting him off. Gary frowned.

“Well, I’m taking a look around. If you want to tag along, then come on.”

He had little choice but to follow her and Persian as they marched through the lab like they owned the place. He shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his board shorts, resigned.

The Observatory lab was huge, but it was so full of equipment, books, and people that the space felt cluttered, even claustrophobic. Gary bumped elbows with more than a couple lab workers passing by, and even a suffered a minor static shock from a Magnemite hovering past. The tiny Magnet Pokémon was using its electromagnetic powers to tote around a trail of various small metal tools.

“Hey, what’s that?” Ivy asked.

Despite the clutter of the lab, the corner she'd stopped at was cordoned off and completely empty save for one large piece of equipment—scrap metal, more like. It was as tall as a man, circular, and hollow in the center. Nothing but a ring of metal and wires hooked up to a huge super computer outside the cordoned-off area. There was no one around using the machine. It was just sitting there, forgotten.

Ivy ducked under the cordon, and Persian followed. Gary yanked back on her wrist instinctively.

“Ivy, you can’t go in there!” he hissed.

She looked at him innocently and blew another pink bubble. “Why not?”

“It’s clearly off-limits.”

There was a twinkle in her blue eyes that quickened his pulse, though this time not in a good way. “If they wanted to keep people out, they should use something more deterring than a flimsy rope.”

“That’s not the point,” Gary tried, but she slipped out of his grip and padded toward the strange machine.

He had no choice then but to follow and stop her before she touched something the wrong way and set off a million alarms or burned the place down. When he got a closer look at the weird ringed machine, he couldn’t help but touch it himself.

“What is it?” Ivy asked, running her fingers over the smooth grey metal and following the red wires to the supercomputer, which was currently powered down in rest mode.

“I don’t know.” Gary put a hand through the center, but it was nothing but a hollow ring opening up to the plaster wall behind. “It doesn’t look like anything.”

“Wonder if Lily would know?” Ivy took out her camera and snapped a picture of the machine. The flash lit up the room for a split second. Persian hissed at the bright light and shook out his head, shedding grey fluff on the floor.

“She’s a paleogeneticist, not an astrophysicist. There’s no reason she’d know,” Gary said.

Ivy shrugged. “You know what they say about Ducklett and Swanna.”

“That’s... Wait, what do they say? Did you just make that up?”

Ivy was moving to get another shot when a security guard and a lab tech rushed toward them.

“You can’t be in there! Both of you!” the security guard said, panting as he sweated under his blue collar.

“Hey, you can’t take pictures in here,” the lab tech said. “I have to take your camera.”

He made a grab for it, but Ivy was quicker and danced out of his reach. In a sleight of hand Gary did not want to know how she did, the camera disappeared behind her back. She wiggled her fingers at the lab tech.

“What camera?” She blew and popped another pink bubble.

Persian did not like the confrontation and growled low in his throat, startling both the security guard and the lab tech.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” said a woman in a white lab coat carrying a thermos of coffee.

“P-Professor!” stammered the lab tech. “This woman was taking pictures of the UM-472-S!”

“Oh?” The woman unhooked the cordon and stepped inside the area. Her heels clacked on the tiled floor. “And who are you two? Visitors?”

The security guard snatched Gary’s visitor’s pass before he could do anything about it and scrutinized it like he might a blossoming pimple. “Says here they’re visiting Professor Oak, but...”

“Oh, really? How do you two know Samson?” the woman asked.

“That’s not really any of your business,” Ivy said, laying a hand on Persian.

“Ivy, it’s fine,” Gary said, ashamed that they’d ended up in this embarrassing situation. “Samson Oak is my uncle, sort of. I’m Gary Oak.”

At this, the woman’s dark eyes lit up. She brushed back her bleached bangs, as if flustered. “So you’re the famous Gary Oak I’ve heard so much about! I’m delighted to finally meet you! Samson’s talked a lot about you.” She held out her hand for him to shake. “Isla Burnet.”

Gary shook her hand. “Professor Burnet, the pleasure is mine. Do you work with my uncle?”

“Me? Oh, not at all!” She laughed, and it was a pleasant laugh, warm and welcoming. “I’m an astrophysicist. Samson’s work is here on the ground, not up in the stars with me.” She smiled. “I can take you to his office, if you like?”

“Professor Burnet,” the lab tech protested. “Her camera...”

Ivy glared at the lab tech, and Gary sensed it was time to intervene.

“Ivy, come on, just delete that picture you took.”

“Fine,” Ivy said. She produced the camera and deleted the picture. “Happy?”

“We should really confiscate that camera,” the security guard said, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

“I’m sure that’s not necessary,” said Burnet. “The picture’s been deleted, after all. No harm done.”

“But Professor,” the lab tech protested.

Burnet smiled easily. “I’ll take responsibility for them, all right? Please get back to work and don’t worry about this anymore. I’ve got it from here.”

The security guard reluctantly handed Gary back his visitor’s pass, and the two disgruntled men returned to their respective work stations. Burnet ushered Gary and Ivy out of the restricted area and closed the cordon behind them. Gary cast a last glance back at the odd machine, but Burnet offered no explanation, and so he decided not to ask.

Ivy, of course, had no such qualms. “So, Professor Burnet, is UM-472-S your pet project?”

Burnet looked at her, and Gary noted the mild surprise on her face at Ivy’s sharp memory. “Oh, well, I suppose you could say that. Unfortunately, it’s a confidential project, so I can’t say much about it. Hence the security protocol.”

“What’s confidential about a ring of scrap metal?”

“Ivy,” Gary said, a warning in his tone.

Burnet chuckled. “I guess it does appear like that to the layman’s eye. I can assure you, there’s much more to it than appearances suggest.”

“Like what?”

“ _Ivy_ ,” Gary warned her again.

Burnet leaned in and grinned conspiratorially. “Things you wouldn’t believe even if you saw them.”

Ivy returned her grin, which was never a good sign. “Trust me, Professor, with the things I've seen, there's very little I don't believe anymore.”

Burnett laughed lightly. “Interesting! I’m sure life with a Gym Leader must be very exciting.”

“It has its ups and downs.”

Ivy let it drop then. Something told Gary that no matter what Ivy said, Burnet would remain tight-lipped. It was probably for the best.

Burnett led them to a corner office overlooking the bustling Pelipper Avenue below. The room was a mess of books, papers, and twisted metal parts and pieces like so many scattered jigsaw puzzle pieces. An ancient-looking computer sat on a desk surrounded by ceramic mugs, stained and sticky with old coffee. An ash tray full of used cigarettes smoked down to the filters sat next to the computer. Gary was overwhelmed momentarily with a sense of nostalgia so aching, so poignant he couldn’t breathe. The man hunched over the desk with his back to them had more salt than pepper in his once brown hair. A thin ribbon of smoke rose and coiled about his head from the cigarette he was smoking as he tinkered.

 _Gramps?_ Gary nearly blurted out.

But the man turned in his swivel chair and looked up at them, and the dream faded. He may have had the same disorganized habits, the same penchant for smoking, even the same square jaw, but he was not the man Gary wished he was. His skin was dark and leathery courtesy of his Alolan mother’s blood, his hair long and tied back in a wispy ponytail. His eyes were too far apart, his nose flatter and larger than they should have been, and the flowery island shirt dispelled any illusion that he could have been the shade of Samuel Oak.

“Who are you?”

Burnet smiled warmly. “Samson, I found Gary and Ivy on my way in this morning. It seems they’re here to visit with you.”

Samson Oak blinked slowly up at them, like it was an effort just to keep his eyes open. Slowly, he set down the circuit board he’d been fiddling with and rose from his chair. He was short, shorter than Oak had been. Gary had a few inches on him.

“Gary,” he repeated, as if trying to remember the name. “Ah... I thought you were coming next week.”

Gary recovered finally and frowned deeply. “Next week? I was supposed to be here yesterday, but you canceled.”

Samson scratched at the white-grey stubble on his chin. “Yesterday? Hm, that can’t be right. Isla, what was I doing yesterday?”

“Didn’t you go to that mahjong tournament on Royal Avenue? You were talking about it for a while,” she said.

Samson lit up. “That’s it. Ah, very exciting match, it was. I tell you, the competitors get younger every year. Simply amazing.”

“Did you take home any winnings?”

Samson’s dark eyes crinkled. “Oh, just a modest sum. I must restrain myself, you know. Though I have a good eye for talent, so I’m bound to take home a _little_ something.”

“Wait, you bailed on us to go watch a board game competition?” Ivy said. “No offense, but that sounds kind of boring.”

Samson turned to her. “Not at all! Why, mahjong is a fiercely competitive game. A strategy game, in fact. No two games are alike, and there are quite a few ways to win. It’s very exciting.”

“I dunno, I’m more of a doer, not a watcher.”

Samson looked very troubled. “My dear, to watch is to learn. Though, I suppose my kin are predisposed to watching rather than doing. Even a skuff such as me cannot seem to escape the penchant... Oh, what have we here?”

He completely forgot about everyone in the room to focus on Persian.

“What a robust Persian! May I?”

He didn’t wait for permission to scan Persian with a device that Gary instantly recognized as a version of the Pokédex. He returned to his ancient computer and powered it up to begin typing, green text on a black background.

“Well, excuse me, I should be getting back to work,” Burnet said, taking her leave. “It was nice to meet you both. I hope you’ll stop by again sometime.”

Gary and Ivy both bid her goodbye while Samson focused on his computer.

“Thirty-four inches tall! Incredible, truly incredible,” he said as he typed away. “An alpha, I would surmise. Fascinating, just fascinating. Has he tried to attack you yet?”

He was looking at Gary for an answer, and Gary was so taken aback that he did not know what to say.

“I’m sorry?”

Samson returned to his typing. “Persian, or Alolan Persian to you mainlanders, is a regional variant. The Normal-type Persian you’re familiar with are haughty and aloof, to be sure, but domesticated they pose little threat to humans. The consequences of lassitude, you know.

“Our Alolan variant is a different case. Their Dark-typing makes them naturally more aggressive, and an alpha male will attack any rival male seen as a threat to his consorting females. Are you sure he hasn’t attempted to run you off yet? That’s truly surprising.”

“Consorting what now?” Ivy said, a little miffed.

Persian watched the conversation unfold with little interest and yawned, exposing his formidable fangs and curling pink tongue.

“Consorting female,” Samson clarified. “It’s quite interesting, really. Much like Pyroar, Alolan Persian live in clowders headed by a single male and numerous females in addition to a large number of Meowth. The females actually do most of the hunting and fighting, but the alpha will step in if there’s a threat to the whole clowder, or if a rival male,” he side-eyed Gary, “attempts to interfere with his brood.”

“His _brood_?” Ivy looked like she might pop a blood vessel. Instead, she popped her bubble gum, and the snap echoed ominously.

Gary flinched.

“Listen, _Uncle Samson_ ,” Ivy said. “I don't know what Gary told you or whatever, but I’m no one’s brood _anything_. I’m a Reaper, for your information. If there’s an alpha around here, it sure as hell better be me.”

Samson blinked at her, unmoved. He shifted his gaze behind Ivy. “Well, in that case, let me ask you to please have Persian refrain from attacking Oranguru.”

“Huh?”

Gary followed his gaze to the corner of the office, where he was shocked to see a hulking humanoid Pokémon sitting in the corner. He had to be at least 400 pounds of white and purple hair, and he was looking down on Persian with an eerily familiar lazy appraisal. Persian swished his tail and stalked about, as if looking for an opening to maul the huge orangutan.

“What the hell is that thing?” Ivy went over to Persian and laid a hand on his flank to stay him.

Samson pushed out of his desk on his swivel chair but did not stand up. “Oranguru. He’s my personal assistant.”

Gary reached for his Pokédex out of habit and scanned the hulking Pokémon, but there was no data. It had to be a native to Alola, and not just that.

_A Psychic._

He could feel the ape’s presence, that familiar sensation not unlike bumping elbows with strangers in a crowded room. Oranguru felt him, too, it seemed, and lifted his yellow eyes to meet Gary’s. He had a fan in his hand woven from palm fronds and raised it, like a shield.

Another form woke from her nap in Oranguru’s lap, where the fan had been covering her from sight. This Pokémon was recognized by Gary’s Pokédex, and the automatic scan pulled up a familiar entry on the screen.

“A Pikachu,” he said.

Pikachu yawned and lifted her little head, her dark eyes droopy with sleep. Her ears twitched, she gave the room a sniff, and then lost interest. She tried to go back to sleep, but Oranguru was getting up and lifted her little body out of his lap using his Psychic powers. Pikachu, apparently used to such treatment, floated gently to the floor on her rear and yawned again, perhaps a little sad to see her comfortable bed get up and leave but lacking the energy to protest.

Oranguru’s steps were surprisingly light for such a large heavy creature. In fact, he was almost silent as he moved. He drew closer to Gary and peered down at him. The Psychics Gary was familiar with tended toward small statures, depending on their telekinetic powers to win their battles rather than physical strength. Oranguru appeared to possess both. Gary imagined the huge orangutan squeezing him in his sausage hands, soft flesh turning red until bursting, bones snapping like twigs. He put a hand on Alakazam’s Pokéball.

“Well then, let’s have a look at you,” Samson said, rising out of his chair.

He puffed a last drag of his cigarette then snuffed it out in the overflowing tray on his desk. He looked Gary up and down, and then rested his wide hands on Gary’s shoulders. He smelled of tobacco and soap and sea breeze. Before Gary could get a word in edgewise, Samson nodded.

“There’s more than a little of old Sammy in you,” he said, smiling a little. “Like seeing a Ghost, almost. The resemblance is uncanny.”

Samson’s expression softened in memory then, and Gary felt his throat clench.

“A true Clairvoyant like him, and a Gym Leader now, too. I’ve followed your progress over the years, very impressive. But your personality is all wrong. Sammy was never so serious.”

“I get that a lot, actually,” Gary said.

Samson nodded like this made all the sense in the world. “Well, no wonder you’ve come so far at your age. A true Oak if ever there was one. Mm...I should know, having watched Sammy come into his own.”

Gary remembered what he had told Ivy before about Samson being the laziest Oak there ever was, how he would do things like skip town and play mahjong instead of focusing on his work. Somehow, hearing it from Samson himself made it hard to face, and he averted his gaze, a little sad. Samson would know better than anyone how he measured up against the great Samuel Oak.

But he smiled, that half smirk that reminded Gary he was an Oak, too, no matter what he or anyone else said. “So, you’ve come all the way here. I expect you’ll want an update to your Pokédex.”

“You can do that?” Ivy said, her previous annoyance forgotten now that she had Persian purring on the floor as she rubbed his belly and pulled tufts of thick grey fur from between her fingers to toss in the trash can.

“Hm? I suppose I can. Sammy and that Bill character came up with the system—do you know Bill? Chatty young man, too much for me, my goodness—but anyway, I’ve expanded the database to include many of the native Alolan Pokémon you don’t often see in Kanto or anywhere else in the world.” He nodded to Persian soaking up all of Ivy’s attention on the floor. “Including our local variants.”

“That would be great, actually, thank you,” Gary said. “I was also hoping I could get some work done while I'm here. Is there a spare office I can use?”

Samson waved him off. “My boy, you’re on a tropical island miles from all your responsibilities. An office is the last place you ought to be, take it from me.”

“That’s what _I_ keep telling him,” Ivy quipped.

“I see,” Samson said. “Well, I suppose you’re more like Sammy than I gave you credit for. Brilliant, that cousin of mine, no doubt, but he never knew how to take a day off.” Samson checked his watched. “Speaking of which, I have to be going soon. The mahjong semi-finals are this evening, and I have a VIP pass.”

“What? But you said you just went to that tournament yesterday,” Gary said.

“Yes, the quarter-finals. Tonight is the semi-finals, and on Saturday the championship will be played in Malie City. I have tickets, you know. Oh, I’m sorry, did you want to come? I could see about procuring a couple more tickets, though they’d be of the general admission type at this later stage of things...”

“Hard pass,” Ivy said.

“Thank you for the offer, but no,” Gary said.

Samson shrugged. “Suit yourselves.”

Oranguru was looming over Gary and blocking his path, but before Gary could say anything, Samson lit up another cigarette and gestured to Oranguru.

“Let’s go, then,” Samson said.

Oranguru gently waved his palm frond fan, which glowed blue with Confusion, and the furniture in the room began to float, clearing a wide path to the door. Samson strolled out to the main lab area, leaving Gary and Ivy to follow. Oranguru brought up the rear. The sleepy Pikachu got up and trotted after them on sluggish little paws.

In the main laboratory, Oranguru parted the sea of people, Pokémon, and equipment once again, levitating them safely out of the way for Samson and the others to pass by. Ivy nudged Gary.

“He’s not lazy, he’s efficient. And he’s got his priorities straight,” she said.

Gary didn’t bother replying, knowing it was futile to argue with her.

Samson led them to a part of the lab close to the supercomputer where they had met Burnet earlier. Gary caught a glimpse of the strange hollow machine she and her colleagues had made such a big deal about. Burnet herself was nowhere to be seen, and Samson headed to the supercomputer and powered it on.

“I had originally planned on assembling new hardware for you when you said you would be making the trip out,” Samson explained as he punched the keys with his pointer fingers, as though the concept of a keyboard was entirely alien to him. “But I thought you were coming next week, so...”

“I e-mailed you yesterday about coming in, and you said come back today because you were out sick,” Gary said.

“Oh, I wasn’t sick.”

“Yeah, I got that part.”

Ivy snorted, and Gary ignored her. The Pikachu that had wandered after them sat down next to Gary’s foot, and he got a small jolt from her proximity. Annoyed, he looked down and she sneezed cutely. She looked up at him and blinked sleepy eyes, glazed with boredom. Something about this Pikachu did not sit right with him, but he couldn’t place what it was. Maybe she was unwell?

“So, I’ll just clone my virtual Pokédex onto yours,” Samson explained. “Or something. All this new technology, I tell you. It’s all a big mess, if you ask me.”

Gary wasn’t sure he should be handing over the Pokédex to Samson after that one, but Ivy didn’t seem worried and handed hers over.

“Do mine first,” she said. “I gotta know what that sandy Ghost thing I fought was.”

Samson accepted her green Pokédex and hooked it up to the supercomputer’s USB port. “That sounds like Sandyghast. Nasty little spirits. You’re lucky you didn’t encounter their evolved form, Palossand. Well, I ought to say amalgamated form.”

“Creepy vacuum mouth, pile of bones underneath, about the height of this building?” Ivy said.

Samson looked at her soberly.

“ _That’s_ what you fought on the beach the other day?” Gary said, aghast.

“What? I had Mega Tyranitar and the others. Persian and all his _consorting females_ helped, too.”

“...My dear, you’re lucky to be alive,” Samson said gravely. “Even a Reaper would not be safe from a Ghost like Palossand of the size you’re describing. Ula'ula’s own Kahuna Nanu faced a horde of the sandy pests in Malie City some years ago and nearly lost his life in the process.”

“Kahuna Nanu? See if you can say that ten times fast,” Ivy said, biting back a laugh.

“Kahunas,” Gary said. “I’ve heard of them. They’re like Alola’s version of Gym Leaders, right?”

“In a way. I suppose the biggest difference between them is that succession for your lot is political. Here, it’s spiritual. Ah, here we are. All finished.”

Ivy accepted her Pokédex and powered it up. “Great, thanks Uncle Samson!”

Gary sighed and handed over his Pokédex to be updated next. “Spiritual succession?”

“Oh, yes. The Guardian Deities choose the Kahunas. Or at least, they did many years ago when the Black Dawn came.”

Gary sensed a folktale coming on.

“Black Dawn? Sounds like a shitty teen vampire movie,” Ivy said.

Samson chuckled. “Not quite. It was more of a time of war. It’s said that the divide between night and day was torn apart, like a quilt ripped in two down the center. There’s nothing between the two halves, and from that nothingness came an army that was said to stop time itself, so that night couldn’t become day and day couldn’t become night. Apparently, the sun and moon were perpetually eclipsed during that bloody time. Hence, the name.

“That was also when the Tapus were born, and they chose brave human Tamers to help them fight against those malevolent forces threatening Alola. The descendants of those Tamers are the Kahunas we know today. At least, that’s how the story goes. Anyway, if you want to know more, you can look into it on your own time. As I said, I have places to be.”

He finished with Gary’s Pokédex and returned it. Gary checked the device, but everything seemed to be working fine. He tried scanning Persian, and this time the entry flickered across the screen and spat out a wealth of information.

“Aggressive, territorial, hierarchical,” he read of Alolan Persian’s description. “...Their fur is considered a luxury pelt, and trade is strictly regulated.” He snapped the Pokédex closed. “How can it be strictly regulated when Persian sheds so much?”

“Hm," Samson said. But it seemed he didn't have an answer for them, or perhaps he did not care. "Oranguru, let’s go back to my office. I have to get my bag.”

They made their way back with Oranguru clearing the path once more and the sniffling Pikachu trotting along on Gary’s heels like she was afraid of being left behind. She bumped into him a couple times, shocking him and making him trip into a passing scientist carrying a tray of just-washed glass equipment. It was a miracle they didn’t all crash to the floor. That, and Oranguru’s quick telekinetic reflexes. Gary apologized profusely to the woman.

“What’s wrong with this Pikachu?” Gary asked when they were back in Samson’s office. “Is she sick?”

“In a sense,” Samson said, distracted as he searched under the piles of papers and coffee mugs for something. “She was a rescue. I took her in as a Pichu, and she’s been something of a lab mascot ever since. But that was many years ago.”

“So, she’s old?” Ivy said, poking and prodding at pictures, books, and models around the office like a regular snoop.

“She’s not as young as she used to be, but Pikachu live a few decades. Much longer if they manage to evolve. This one’s just been here for too long.”

“What does that mean?” Gary asked.

“Well, she doesn’t do much besides hang around with Oranguru and me. Pikachu have a tendency to emulate the people and Pokémon around them. They’re popular with young children for this reason. Happy children make happy Pikachu, and so on. But sad children make for sad Pikachu.”

“Wait, are you saying this Pikachu’s depressed or something?” Ivy said, morbidly curious.

Samson sighed. “Where did I put that bag? Good grief... Hm? Oh, well, she’s been around Oranguru for so long, and Psychics are a bit mellower than most. I don’t have much energy these days, either. I suppose we’ve rubbed off on her.”

Ivy kneeled down and peered at Pikachu, who was on her rear and feebly scratching her ear. “That’s kinda sad, when you put it like that.”

“Yes,” Samson said. “Or, alternatively, she could simply have a bad case of irritable bowel syndrome. It’s difficult to tell.”

“I mean, is it really?” Gary said, resisting the urge to groan.

“Why don’t you take her?” Samson suggested. “She could use some sunlight. You’re Clairvoyant, so that might help.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Ivy asked.

“No way,” Gary said. “Pikachu’s the last Pokémon I’d ever want on my team.” Ash and Lily both had Pikachu on their teams and a constant supply of electrical burns to prove it. He was not about to join the club.

“Why ever not? Pikachu isn’t the strongest Pokémon by any means, but they make good companions. Surely you have plenty of strong Pokémon as a Gym Leader already.”

He didn’t even feel Ivy coming aside from the chilling sensation of another person so close. Gary was too slow to stop her when she had a mind to steal something, though, and this time was no different. By the time he whirled on her and made a grab for her sticky fingers, she had her prize in hand. Red light flashed, and Pikachu disappeared. Gary stared in horror.

“Woo! You got Pikachu! Would you like to give her a nickname?” Ivy said cheekily as she waggled the Pokéball in front of Gary’s face.

“The hell I do. You just stole my Pokéball!”

Ivy shrugged. “Yeah, well, you stole Rocky from me.”

Gary gaped at her. “That was six years ago!”

“Well, he was mine.”

“You _stole_ his egg from Lily’s lab!”

“Yeah, _I_ stole it. Meaning he was rightfully _mine_ , not yours.” She shoved Pikachu’s Pokéball at Gary, and he had little choice but to take it. “So, consider us even now.”

Gary was so mad he could have spit. “Literally nothing you just said makes sense! In what universe does you forcing a depressed Pikachu on me equal me raising your stolen Aerodactyl out of the goodness of my heart?!”

“I’ve found it!” Samson held up a brown man purse that had fallen behind his desk and removed a pair of glasses from it. They had clip-on sunglass lenses, and Samson donned them. They sat crooked on his nose. “UV protection is a serious issue here. I hope you both have sunglasses of your own.”

“You bet!” Ivy flashed her own pair of designer sunglasses and donned them. “Safe and styling, that’s my motto.”

“That’s never been your motto, ever. And don’t change the subject,” Gary said. “What am I supposed to do with this Pikachu?”

Samson was ready to go with his clip-on sunglasses, man purse, and well-worn Sperrys. He recalled Oranguru to his Pokéball, the only one he carried. “Actually, Gary, I have a colleague, Professor Nikolao Kukui, who studies Tamers and their relationships to Pokémon. He believes there may be a special connection between Pikachu’s line and Clairvoyants, but I don’t believe he’s quite figured out what it is.”

“I really don’t see how that’s helpful,” Gary grumbled.

Samson shrugged. “Well, I'm sure you’ll be fine either way. Anyway, I really must be going.” He started to leave, then paused. “Oh, right, I suppose we ought to do something social. Not dinner, though. I don’t like people to see me eating.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Ivy said. “See you, Uncle Samson! Have fun at mahjong!”

“Oh, I certainly will. You two behave yourselves. No more picking fights with enormous sand spirits.”

“We’ll do our best!” Ivy waved happily.

Samson was gone, and Gary was left holding a Pokéball with the newest addition to his team, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

 

Selene’s arms were lead, her head an aching mess, as though someone had fitted a metal bucket over it and pounded on it with a pipe in some sadistic drunk ritual. There was sand in her mouth, salt in her eyes, and her clothes were sunbaked and brittle. Someone was shouting. Everything hurt.

“Selene, wake up! Please, you have to be okay!”

Something cool touched her forehead, and a shadow passed over her eyes, blocking out the merciless sun. Beyond, she heard waves, so far away. There was singing.

“Selene, can you hear me? Please say something!”

Selene groaned and slowly opened her eyes, which was a mistake. Salt caked around her lashes and stung her dry eyes, drawing tears and curses alike. Except she couldn’t move her heavy arms, or any part of her body. The tears fell freely.

“It’s all right,” said Lillie. “You’ll be okay.” Sniffling. “I swear I’ll look after you, okay?”

More shouting. She recognized the voice, and pictured his face.

_Hau._

“Hau’s okay, too. He went to see if... Well, he’s back now.”

Selene tried wiggling her fingers and felt the hot sand beneath them. Every breath was dry, raw scraping, like nails raking through hot coals. She imagined being in a great desert, endless and sere, but the waves.

_The boat..._

She tried opening her eyes again and saw Lillie leaning over her. A weird sense of déjà vu stirred something in her, and she found a little energy to blink away the tears and focus.

“Lillie...?”

“You’re awake!” Lillie said. “Here, I have some water. You should drink a little, all right? Let me help you.”

Selene had little strength to protest and went along with Lillie hoisting her up to a sitting position to drink from a canteen that had seen better days. The water was stale and warm, but it slaked her murderous thirst. Selene coughed after a few sips, but Lillie waited patiently for the spasm to pass before feeding her more tepid water.

“Selene!” Hau shouted, running over. “You’re finally awake! Man, I thought we lost you there for a second, you know?”

Feeling and strength slowly returned as the water invigorated her a little. She moved her arms and legs and did a cursory check for injuries. There were none, blessedly. But her head hurt like a mother fucker, and she tasted salt and bile on her tongue even after the drink. Her chest ached, and it still hurt to breathe. Scattered around the beach were bits of flotsam: a ripped dive flag here, a life saver there, and a mess of splintered, white-painted wood. A faded red ‘S’ was partially visible on one plank. The remains of the _Springtime Youth_ were smashed beyond all repair.

“I almost drowned,” Selene said, the gravity of the situation dawning.

Lillie looked haunted, and Hau nodded soberly. “We all did,” he said softly, like he was afraid of who might hear. “If it wasn’t for them, we mighta been goners for real.”

Selene followed his gaze to the water and spotted her Pokémon, Qwilfish and Toxapex, in the shallows. Farther out, a Primarina was swimming as she kept a watchful eye on the trio. Her luscious blue hair cascaded behind her and blended with the brilliant cerulean water. Selene recognized her.

“Professor Kukui’s Primarina,” she said.

“Yeah, she dove in after you’n Lillie when you went overboard,” Hau explained. “‘Rantis’s here, too.”

Kukui’s Lurantis came lumbering out of the jungle. He made a clownish figure all in pink and towering six feet tall, scythe-like appendages dangling like shirt sleeves that were too long over folded hands. His compound eyes reflected the sunlight as he stalked about the jungle’s edge.

“Man, Selene, you really spooked us,” Hau went on. “You sure you’re okay?”

She clutched her aching head. “I feel like I have the worst hangover ever.”

Lillie shook her head. She was nearly in tears herself. “I’m so sorry Selene, Hau. This is all my fault.”

“Whoa, hey Lillie, it’s okay! The important thing is we’re all safe. Nebby too. Poor thing tired herself out so bad she’s been passed out this whole time.”

Selene wasn’t listening. “Wait, where’s Professor Kukui?”

Hau looked guilty. “Uh, well, he’s sorta not here.”

“What’re you talking about?” Selene coughed again, and Lillie passed her the canteen. Selene waved her off in frustration.

“He went to get help,” Lillie said meekly. “He and Toucannon.”

“Yeah, he said he’d be back real soon, and Toucannon flies pretty fast, so...”

Selene barely heard what Hau was saying. All she could think was that she was shipwrecked on a deserted beach far from civilization with her well-meaning but clueless best friend and a woman who was basically entirely to blame for everything, and also? What the hell had even happened on that boat? Selene remembered the cold sea water, stars blinking like eyes, the tidal abyss swallowing them whole, and Nebby...

“Where are we?” Selene demanded.

“What? Oh, uh, I think we’re somewhere in the Lush Jungle,” Hau said. “I mean, Prof thought so.”

“Before he abandoned us,” Selene said.

“Whoa, hey, I didn't say that.”

“Yeah you did.” She got to her feet, and Toxapex crawled onto the beach on slow heavy tentacles toward the sound of her voice. “And I don’t know about you, but there’s no way in hell I’m staying here waiting for a rescue team that might never come.”

Lillie paled. “You think no one will come for us?”

Hau tried to assuage her. “No, Lillie, everything’s gonna be okay, see? Prof’s gonna come back for us like he said.”

“Oh, yeah? When’ll that be?” Selene challenged. “Lush Jungle dumps out in Heahea City, right? If we keep going, we’ll reach it eventually. Either way, I'm not waiting around here for something to come out and find us appetizing.”

Lillie looked like she’d seen a Ghost at the prospect. “A-Appetizing? You mean... You think we’ll be _eaten_?!”

Selene shot her a withering look. “Not me, that’s for damn sure. Toxapex.”

Toxapex spread her thorny tentacles to reveal her true body within. Runny yellow eyes grinned up at Selene and the others, and Lillie physically recoiled from the sight. Selene noticed and glared, but Hau noticed, too.

“Uh, hey! Prof said we should really wait here for him,” Hau said.

“I’m sunburned, lost, and I almost drowned trying to save her,” Selene said. “Nebby’s unconscious. And after what I saw...” She hugged her arms, hating the crawling sensation that raised goosebumps on her skin at the thought of those mirrored eyes watching her in the gloom. “I’m not waiting here until dark. So let’s go.”

Hau hesitated.

“I think we should wait,” Lillie said rather bravely despite the quaver in her voice. “I, um, I want Nebby to rest and recover. A-And we have Lurantis and Primarina to watch over us, like Professor Kukui wanted. You’re tired and, um, and thirsty, so you should rest, Selene.”

“Yeah, Lillie’s right,” Hau said. “We should wait.”

Selene looked between them, her anger escalating with every passing second. “Wow. Seriously, Hau? You’re taking her side after everything?”

“Huh? Wait, whoa, there’s no sides.”

“I risked my life to help you,” Selene interrupted, advancing on Lillie. “What was that thing?”

Lillie blinked, taken aback. “Th-Thing? What was... I’m not sure—”

“You’re lying. I can see it. You’re lying to us about everything. You have been since the beginning.”

“Whoa, Selene,” Hau said. “Cool it, okay?”

Selene whirled on him. “No, I’m not gonna cool it. Wake the fuck up, Hau. Are you seriously gonna stand there and pretend like all this is normal?”

“I mean...” 

“You show up shipwrecked with no ship,” Selene said. “You have a weird Pokémon no one’s ever even heard of before and pass her off as rare, like that gets you a free pass no questions asked. You don’t answer a single question I have about who you are, where you came from, or why you turned up randomly.”

Lillie was growing visibly uncomfortable, and she flushed in anger and embarrassment. “That’s private.”

“You can’t have it both ways! You want my help, but you keep everything to yourself. And that... That _thing_ that showed up, that was all you, I know it.”

“Hey,” Hau said. “That’s not really fair.”

“I _saw_ it, Hau! I felt it. I almost _died_ , or did you forget?”

Hau averted his gaze, abashed.

“Please,” Lillie said in a small, hurt voice. “I never meant for anyone to get hurt because of me.”

“You never meant,” Selene said, her tone as poisonous as her rotting right hand. She clenched her fist, remembering Lillie’s horrified expression when she’d first seen that very hand exposed. “You never mean a lot of things, do you? There’s a word for that, you know: coward.”

Hau shoved her roughly. “Hey, that’s enough! You’re bein’ a real asshole. Lillie doesn’t deserve that.”

Selene stumbled back into Toxapex, who caught her before she could fall. She was so taken aback for a moment that all she could do was stare at the person who was supposed to know her better than anyone. “What the hell is wrong with you? Who even are you anymore?”

“I’m your friend,” Hau said, standing up straighter to leverage his couple inches of height over her. “And I’m tellin’ you you’re outta line.”

Toxapex did not appreciate Hau’s bravado and made a cringe-worthy gurgling sound. Her tentacles began to quiver, and poison leaked from the spikes protruding from them. Lillie gasped and backed away in fear.

“If you were my friend, you’d at least consider my side of it,” Selene said, her throat clenching uncomfortably. “But instead you’re playing hero to the princess, and I’m just in the way.”

“What the hell’s that s’posed to mean?”

Selene was so mad she didn't care anymore what either of them thought. “You know exactly what it means. And for the record, on your own time you can do you, like I give a shit. But this is the real world, Hau. There’s no such thing as heroes and noble adventures and fucking mustache-twirling villains. And even if there were heroes, we sure as hell aren’t them. We’re just three nobodies stranded in the middle of nowhere without food and water. I mean, I have a full team of strong Pokémon, but you're just...”

“Just what?” Hau challenged.

As soon as she’d said it, Selene regretted her words. The look on Hau’s face, a bitterness that had become a part of him so long ago, made itself known, long buried deep beneath his smiles and caprice. It was an old nemesis, a wound that would never close no matter how healing his laughter could be. He was Kahuna Hala’s grandson, and he was a disappointment from the day he’d been born.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Selene tried to backtrack.

“Yeah, you did,” Hau said. “Even you, Selene...”

Selene was at a loss for words. She and Hau seldom fought, and he rarely showed her of all people, his dearest friend in the world, this side of himself. “Hau...”

He turned his back on her and stalked off down the beach.

“Selene, please,” Lillie said. “I... I never meant to cause so much trouble for you and Hau. Please believe me.”

Selene clenched her fists. Her poisoned nails dug into her palm, but she felt no pain. No venom known to man could kill her, but the sight of Hau’s turned back was more poisonous still. Toxapex ground her teeth together, sensing the mounting tension. Selene could smell her poison beading on her spikes, like overripe fruit left in the sun just long enough to begin to cook. Her fingers itched to sink into something soft with a pulse. Lillie was making herself an easy target.

“Believe you?” Selene spat. “None of this would’ve ever happened if it wasn’t for _you_.”

Lillie wrung her hands and hunched her shoulders like she might collapse right there. “I’m sorry,” she said in a small mousy voice.

“You’re sorry.” Selene repeated the apology like it was a curse. “That’s all you got after everything we’ve done for you? I risked my life to help you, and all you can say is you’re goddamn _sorry_?”

Lillie was too beaten down to say another word.

“Fine. You can be sorry all you want here. I’m leaving.”

Selene recalled Qwilfish and turned toward the Lush Jungle with Toxapex in tow. Kukui’s Lurantis watched her pass, but he didn’t approach and turned away at the smell of Toxapex’s leaky poison. Selene was so mad she could have screamed, and Lillie’s feeble “Wait!” barely registered as she marched into the thick jungle. The fleshy canopy swallowed the sunlight and cast everything in grey-green shadows that in turn swallowed her, too. No one followed her, and she didn’t look back.

* * *

 

Selene had been gone now for a couple hours, and Lillie hadn’t said a word ever since. She sat on the beach with the passed-out Nebby in her lap, cradling the sleeping Pokémon like a lost little girl might clutch at her favorite doll: more for her own comfort than for Nebby’s. She looked so small sitting there as the waves reached for her, frothing blue hands that tried to pull her into the sea but not quite reaching. If she noticed Hau looking, she didn’t let on.

He was in the shallows with Primarina, and his toes were pruning. He didn’t care. The water was warm, the sun was bright, a beautiful day by all accounts. But he found little joy in it after his fight with Selene.

_“I have a full team of strong Pokémon, but you’re just...”_

Hau gazed out over the open ocean beyond Primarina, the endless blue sky above, the cool waves gently washing over him and sweeping the white sand through his toes. So small, so insignificant, how could he argue with her? He was no hero, no dashing knight ready to fight monsters and beasts and earn glory. He was just Hau, Kahuna Hala’s grandson, a skuff with no future. A nobody.

And yet, he couldn’t hold onto his anger. He’d always been bad at holding grudges when he found it so much easier to smile. Primarina hummed and nudged him with her cold nose, and Hau reached up to pet her neck. Her blue and white fur was short and velvety, soft to the touch.

“I’m just...”

A skuff. Ordinary. Forgettable. Primarina’s dark eyes glittered in the sunlight as she looked down at him. She had been the one to drag him to the surface after the wreck, strong enough to withstand the ocean currents and fearless in the face of the fire consuming the _Springtime Youth_. Kukui had trained her well, raised her from a tiny Popplio, made her strong. Tamers were good at that. Hau had seen it all his life watching Hala with his Pokémon. Tamers were strong, but Hau was just Hau.

He glanced back at Lillie huddled on the beach. Her green eyes were glazed and tired as she stared at nothing, defeated. He wondered if she would stay there in that position, just waiting for help that might not come for a long while yet, if at all.

_I’m just me._

Selene was gone, and he was the only one left. Primarina ducked underwater to swim. Her long aquamarine hair trailed behind her like some glamorous mermaid, and Hau was by himself among the endlessly beating waves. He clenched his fists. He couldn’t stay here doing nothing.

Lillie was startled to see him marching right up to her, dripping wet. She looked grim, like an insomniac or a victim of trauma. She opened her mouth to speak, but only a faint squeak came out. Hau reached out a hand for her.

“Come on,” he said gently. “We’re getting outta here, you ’n me.”

Lillie was in no position to argue, so she let him pull her up. “We are?”

Hau glanced toward the Lush Jungle, a green wall thick with trees and vines so cluttered and dark that it seemed not even the sun could penetrate it. Selene had gone in without so much as a glance back, fearless so long as she had her wits and her Pokémon. Hau was not Selene. He could never be like her.

But he was all Lillie had left.

“I’m no Tamer or famous professor,” he said to Lillie. “But I got Passimian and Togedemaru, and ‘Rantis knows the jungle better than anybody, see if he doesn’t.”

Lillie stared at him hollowly, but after a moment she nodded. “Stufful’s small, but he has a good nose, so maybe...”

Hau did his best to smile for her. “Yeah, he’ll be a big help.” He glanced back at the Lush Jungle standing ominously before them, wondering what they might find within. Or what might find them. He swallowed hard. “I bet with ‘Rantis as our guide, we’ll make it to Heahea in no time, yeah? And maybe we’ll find Selene, too.”

“You think so?”

Lillie held his gaze intently, and he knew what she wanted to hear.

“Maybe,” he said. “But I dunno for sure.”

Lillie didn’t like his answer, and she looked at her feet as she shifted Nebby’s weight in her arms.

“But hey, when we get to Heahea City and meet up with Prof, we can all look for Selene together, yeah?”

Lillie nodded numbly, hesitated, then looked up and smiled as best she could. “Yes, you’re right.”

 _She’s trying, too,_ he realized.

“Y’know, Lillie, what Selene said about you before? It’s not true. You’re not a coward. I dunno what you’ve been through exactly, but you haven’t given up even though it’s obviously hard for you. I think that makes you really brave.”

Lillie stared at him, speechless, and her eyes began to tear up a little. Hau flushed, embarrassed that he was making her cry.

“Uh, yeah, so like, let’s get goin’, yeah? Hey, ‘Rantis!” He signaled the big pink mantis and released Passimian and Togedemaru.

Lurantis led the way through the Lush Jungle with Hau, Lillie, and Stufful in tow. Passimian, at home in the environment, opted to travel through the canopy above with Togedemaru under his arm. He was faster than the rest of their party and scouted ahead, doubled back, and explored at his leisure. He even returned with a bunch of Pomeg berries that he dropped on the path Lurantis cleared with his huge cleaver limbs, angering the Bloom Sickle Pokémon and startling Stufful so bad that he charged at a tree and nearly knocked Passimian out of it before almost knocking himself out. Lillie freaked out, almost dropped Nebby, and they were set back a good fifteen minutes while everyone recovered. But they had a snack thanks to Passimian, and they set off again in slightly higher spirits.

Birds chirped in the trees, unseen but heard as they sang and flapped about, spooked out of sight by Passimian’s noisy exploring. Lurantis paid them no mind, so Hau wasn’t worried about them, either. Lillie seemed to regain some color in her cheeks as she swallowed some Pomeg berry seeds.

As they hiked through the jungle, they talked about Selene.

“Can I ask you something?” Lillie said.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Um, well... Selene’s hands.” She struggled to find the right words. “I guess, I’ve never met a real Veleno before. Is it... I mean, is it true...?”

“That they’re poisonous? Yeah, I guess so. That’s why she wears those gloves all the time, so she doesn’t accidentally scratch anybody, you know?”

Lillie nodded and bit her lip. “I didn’t realize it at first, with the gloves, I mean. I didn’t know what she looked like underneath until...”

Hau glanced at her askance and noticed she was clutching a pretty pendant around her neck like it might fall off at any moment.

“Lillie?”

She shook her head. “I think I may have upset her. I went to her house, and her mom was so nice. She even gave me this prism scale necklace even though she just met me, and I was... I was just so startled seeing them like that... It doesn’t scare you?”

Hau thought about how to respond to that. “You know, I was really little when Selene and Lani moved out here, so I didn’t really understand what was going on. But as I got older, I figured it out pretty quick.”

“Figured what out?”

“Most people’re scared of Veleno. And I get it, I mean, they’re dangerous. Prof says there’s no cure for Veleno poison.”

“That’s awful."

“Yeah, it is. But Selene and her mom aren’t awful.”

Lillie frowned. “Of course, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know you didn’t. But the thing is, a lotta people do mean it like that.” He indicated her necklace. “Lani makes really good jewelry, but she doesn’t run her shop herself. She has to have other people do it, ‘cause if the customers find out she’s Veleno, they won’t buy it. They think it’s cursed, like they’ll be poisoned and die if they wear it.”

Lillie gasped. “What? But it’s not a disease or—or some evil spell or something. And even if it was possible, Lani would never...”

“Neither would Selene, obviously. But people get scared, and they talk, and, well, you know how it is. I found out about what happened when Selene and her mom moved here when I was older. Nobody would sell to them ‘cause they’re Veleno. Prof helped them out and got them their house, but Tutu said they couldn’t live in Iki Town ‘cause it’d scare everybody too much. That’s why they’re kinda out in the middle of nowhere.”

Lillie looked affronted. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah. It’s always been like that for Selene, and I think it always will be.”

Lillie was silent for a bit as they continued through the jungle. “I’m so stupid. The way I treated her back then... I’m as bad as the rest of them.”

“Hey, you’re not stupid.”

“I looked at her like she had the plague. I was awful to her and Lani, and I didn’t even realize it. How could I be so stupid?”

“You’re not stupid.” Hau stopped and took her by the shoulders gently. “You’re not, okay? I doubt it was like you’re saying, otherwise Lani wouldna given you that necklace.”

“My necklace?”

“Yeah. You don’t give presents to people you dislike, right? I bet you were just surprised, and she knew that. Just like she knew what I know: that you’re a good person at heart.”

“A good person,” Lillie said sadly. “I’m not so sure.”

Hau smiled. “Of course you are. Everybody makes mistakes, but what’s important is you learn from them and you get better.”

“I don’t know...”

“Hey, come on, cheer up! You can always tell Selene you’re sorry the next time you see her, right? She’s a good person, too. If you mean it, she’ll forgive you, trust me.”

Lillie averted her gaze and said nothing to that, and he wondered what had her so troubled. Was it something he said? He tried to think of something to make her feel better.

“You’re really kind,” she said softly. “Selene is lucky to have you as her friend.” When she smiled, it was forced and a little sad. “I’ll tell her that when we see her.”

“Lillie...”

“Come on,” she said, continuing down the cleared path after Lurantis. “We should try to find shelter before it gets dark, right?”

He had little choice but to follow and wonder about her, as Selene had wondered. Lillie was keeping something, something dark and sad and maybe a little dangerous. It was following them, eyes in the darkness, seeing and unseen as all secrets are, and he wondered if shelter would keep them safe in the darkness at all.

* * *

 

The predawn hours were the witching hours, the time when dreams breathed and shadows danced while their conjurers lay dead to the world. It was a time for darkness, quiet and lonely. It was a time for fear and fables, if one believed in that sort of thing. Mostly, it was her time, and she believed.

Lusamine could not sleep, as was often the case. Perhaps it was age: the more time passes, the less of it the body wants to spend dead in slumber. Every moment felt shorter, closer to the end, more precious now than they had been when she was five, ten, twenty years younger. Or maybe it was the dreams. She saw him there still, sometimes. The man who had once slept beside her. His face was fuzzy now in her mind, and she would wake in a sweat-chilled haste to gaze upon his picture frame on her night stand to remind herself. She could not forget him as all the others had. If she did, he would live forever in that picture, sitting alone in the darkness by her bedside collecting dust.

A different man slept beside her this night, as he had many nights before. But him she left to his own dreams as she rose and plucked the picture frame from her night stand, carried it to her vanity, and set it down by the mirror. Her sleeping companion did not stir at all.

Lusamine walked quietly through the master bedroom of her home, a lavish apartment on the top floor of Aether Paradise. In the bathroom, she turned on the lights and leaned over the white pedestal sink. The bright lights on the white walls had a way of illuminating every blemish and crack, and Lusamine scrutinized her bare-faced reflection carefully. There were a few tiny wrinkles around her eyes, and she glared at the lines in her neck where the skin gathered and folded just a little too freely when she turned her head. Her roots were blonde like the rest of her waist-length hair, recently dyed, and her eyes were that same luminous green that could suck the light out of a well-lit room. She was, as any fool could see, naturally beautiful to look upon. But she was no fool.

Face placid and unmoving, she ran the water as icy cold as it would go, tied her hair back, and dipped her face in the basin. Before, she would gasp and hiss and shiver like a leaf left to the mercy of a strong winter wind. Now, the cold was no match for her will as she endured it quietly. Numb, she rose and dried herself and set to work applying various creams and potions, filling in the dips and crags. It was a temporary solution; later in the day, she would call on her personal dermatologist to schedule an injection. It had been some time since the last, and she saw no reason to put it off any longer. Ice and needles, bleach and bright lights. Beauty was not pain, but the illusion of easy comfort. Lusamine had long ago mastered the ritual.

Wrapped in a silken white robe, she padded back to the bedroom and sat before the vanity. Light illuminated the edges of the large mirror and cast a perfect reflection back at her as she brushed out her bolts of platinum blonde hair. The man in the picture watched her every move.

_“I loved your long hair. Why don’t you grow it out again? Just like when we first met.”_

She could remember his voice, a husky rumble that made her heart clench when he whispered in her ear in this very room, before this very same vanity. There was always a smile in his voice when he spoke to her. He was always happy to see her.

She paused mid brush stroke and gazed at her reflection, a pale glimmer in the shadows. Would he be happy to see her now? Would he even recognize her? Lusamine felt an annoying heat behind her glassy eyes and wrenched her brush in anger. The tines caught on a little tangle and made it worse, and she fumed as she was forced to work it out without pulling out half her hair in the process. She blinked the heat from her eyes.

_He won’t know me red and puffy. He won’t know me weak._

She breathed through her nose, feeling her throat clench and slowly release as the urge to shed a tear passed like a kidney stone, stubborn and painful. But she did not flinch, and calmly, she returned to her brushing until her tresses gleamed in the starlight. Even in this witching hour, there were souls awake, eyes watching, shadows waiting to worm their way into the cracks carved by time, that endless tormenter. Little did they know what awaited them if they tried.

“You’re up,” came the voice from her bed.

Lusamine set her brush down and reached for a tube of red lipstick, which she carefully and meticulously applied. She said nothing. Sheets rustled, feet tested the cool floor, a gaunt face flickered to life in the mirror’s reflection as if from a pool of deep darkness within. Lusamine pursed her lips and examined her work.

Large chapped hands rested on her shoulders, fingers through her hair. “Can’t sleep?”

His voice was gravelly where the other’s had been mellifluous. His palms were fleshy and padded with callous, where the other’s were soft and newborn, aristocratic. He smelled of cigarette smoke and aftershave and her, where the other didn’t smell at all anymore. He was here; the man before was gone.

“I’m sorry for waking you, Guzma,” she said flatly, her eyes fixed on their dim reflections in the mirror.

Guzma’s eyes were ringed in shadows, raccoon-ish, like he hadn’t slept well a day in his life or he was constantly getting into fights. A little of both given his line of work. He was light of skin, like Lusamine herself. But where she was statuesque porcelain, he was corpse pale; where her hair was platinum, his was bone white, blanched from its natural muddy brown. He was a specter hovering over her shoulder, gaunt and ghastly, but his hands were heavy on her shoulders and clumsy in her hair. There were new tangles forming where he raked them through. She hardly moved.

“Nah,” he said, leaning in against her ear. His breath was hot and dry, stale from the last cigarette he’d had hours ago. “I never sleep much with you.”

He squeezed her shoulders suggestively, and his knuckles cracked, the sound echoing in the room. Breaking, grinding, kneading. She arched her shoulders back, elongating her slender neck in the mirror. She wasn’t looking at him, or even at herself.

Red lips smiled back at her, wet like they’d been licked. Guzma leaned down and kissed her shoulder, her neck, and those red lips smiled back at her through the mirror, but not in pleasure. Even at this hour when the world was asleep, time crept on like some foul worm wriggling through the mud, and another stayed awake.

Lusamine smiled back at her strange reflection, sensual sweet, and snaked her fingers in Guzma’s tousled hair.

 _Yes, just like that. Make him feel it, make it real_ , she watched her lips move in the mirror, dripping viscous red, in a voice only she could hear.

She rose and hooked her hand around Guzma’s neck, dragging him behind her back toward the bed like a snared fish on a line. Their pale figures blurred in the mirror, a cosmic warping of shape and color and sheets, as he whispered some boorish tripe about how hard she was making him.

“You’re so fuckin’ hot,” he slurred in that skin-scraping gravel tone as he fumbled with her robe and the sheets like a teenager.

Lusamine pushed him down, impatient. His clumsy overtures would have been endearing if she could be bothered to care, but time stopped for no one, and there was much to be done. “Shh,” she whispered, dragging her fingers down his chest.

He obeyed, as he always did, bent to her, as he always did. She threw her head back as he dug his fingers into her thighs, and she searched the darkness beyond the skylight above. The stars, the crescent moon, the great expanse beyond. The night filled her sight, but still she saw the stars, worlds away and in between. So far she could see, but she couldn’t see _him_.

Guzma shuddered beneath her, and she waited for him to settle. Dawn was still a little ways off, but soon enough the light would creep back up and wash out the view. Until then, there were satin sheets and a willing ear. She would not waste a single minute.

“I want her found,” Lusamine said as she cradled Guzma’s head to her chest and stroked his hair like one might a child or a favorite puppy. “As soon as possible.”

“Your wish is my command,” he said with a smile in his voice. “I’ll get my best guys on it.”

“All of them. It’s important.”

Guzma wrapped his arm around her waist and pushed up on an elbow to look down on her. His lips were smeared reddish pink from her lipstick, bloody bright. “I know. She's your daughter. Don't worry, I’ll get her back for you.”

Lusamine clenched her teeth hard enough to hurt. In the darkness, he wouldn’t notice. “...Yes. Lillie and her Pokémon. Both of them are very important to me.”

Guzma looked at her, and he got that halfway pensive look that warned her he was thinking deeply about something that was far above his pay grade. “I could send Gladion. He’d find her before the others, for sure.”

Lusamine pressed her lips together hard enough to drain all the bruised color from them. “Don’t.”

She realized a moment too late that she’d spoken too harshly, and Guzma withdrew his hand from her cheek.

“Hey, it’s okay. He’s been training with Plums—er, Plumeria, and he’s stronger than he looks. He’s gotta be to last in Team Skull, trust me. You wouldn’t recognize him now.”

Lusamine breathed deeply through her nose. “No, I suppose not. Just keep him away from Lillie and Nebby.”

Annoyingly, Guzma had the nerve to question her again. “Lu, he’s strong. He and that Null monster that likes him so much. Trust me—”

Lusamine rolled over and sat up. “This isn’t about trust. Just do your job. I don’t want to hear any more excuses.”

She felt his eyes on her bare backside but ignored him as she dressed. His time was up. There was more to be done, and it was getting late. She could see the faintest fingers of light clawing their way over the eastern horizon.

Guzma said nothing, and when she returned to her vanity to fix her hair, he took the hint and pulled on his ratty black jeans. She paid him well enough, but he still insisted on dressing like a hoodlum. She may have wondered if it was a cry for help, the sad attempt of a thirty-something man-child to reclaim the childhood that was so violently robbed from him by bladed words and battered fists. But there was not enough time in the day to worry about the minuscule and the inevitable. Guzma was on his own. He was used to it by now.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll let you know about Lillie or whatever. I’ll get it done.”

Like a kicked puppy, Guzma constantly needed reassurance from the boot that bled him. And like a kicked puppy, he would forever try harder to please her. By the time she had fixed her mascara, he was already gone. Lusamine leaned over the vanity toward the mirror, the ring of light around the edges casting strange halos in her eyes.

“I know you will,” she said to her reflection.

Her reflection smiled back at her, those bruised lips dripping red and curling like smoke. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy (late) Halloween! I wanted to get this chapter out sooner, but work takes up all my time. I’ve been watching the USUM videos and I’m thrilled and sort of bummed at how many similarities I’m seeing between what seems to be that game plot and the plot of this fic. But I’m hoping they will be different enough to keep everyone sufficiently entertained! We’ll find out soon enough. 


	6. Skinny Dipping -or- What Is Dead May Never Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: This chapter briefly mentions past sexual abuse. It’s one sentence in the first section and is neither graphic nor detailed, but please be aware that it’s there if that triggers you.

The wind was up, the sun was warm, and summer was in full swing this afternoon. The speed boat made it out of the bay, and Po Town’s harsh rocky shores dwindled far behind along with the perpetual grey that hung over the place like a putrid fog. Gladion felt warm, even mildly pleasant as the smell of the sea filled his lungs and they raced into Akala Island waters, but his companions brought the stench of home along for the ride, making it impossible to escape.

Lei Fan sat at the prow, her magenta hair flapping wildly behind her and her thick eyeliner smudged from the salty sea spray. She didn’t seem to notice, or she didn’t give a shit. She sat in silence, watching Akala loom up on the horizon like some great green creature clawing its way up from the depths of the sea. The island was one huge tropical rainforest, the Lush Jungle, surrounding the minatory Mt. Wela, a volcano said to still be active. 

Blue Barney was retching over the side of the speed boat, his stunted legs trembling as he propped himself up on his tip toes to lean over the railing. Yellow bile spilled from his lips, chunky with the remnants of the greasy burger he’d had for lunch. A little splashed onto the deck, and Gladion thought he could pick out a chunk of processed meat patty among the foul acid. Disgusted, he kicked the slop off the bow into the churning waters, to become food for some extremely desperate fish.

Gladion shoved his hands in his pockets and closed his fingers around Lillie’s letter. Damn Plumeria for forcing these two on him. He could go meet with Lillie alone; he didn’t need a fucking escort. But Plumeria was adamant about Team Skull being a team and a family and all that bullshit, so it was a losing battle from the get go. He shouldn’t have even tried, but that was all the more reason to protest. At least she could have sent Hani instead of Blue Barney, he’d insisted. But Plumeria saw an opportunity for Gladion to bond with the dwarf, who packed a bigger punch than most gave him credit for, to hear her tell it. Gladion had some ideas about where Blue Barney could shove his big punches, but he wisely kept the thought to himself. In the end, Plumeria was trying to help. She had always only tried to help him, he reminded himself. Sometimes he just really wished she didn’t bother.

The sounds of Blue Barney’s sea sickness were getting on his nerves, though, so he tapped the driver on the shoulder and asked how much longer.

“‘Bout three hours,” said the man. He pronounced ‘three’ like ‘tree’. Gladion glanced at Lei Fan but abandoned the thought of distracting himself from Blue Barney's godawful retching as soon as he’d had it. Lei Fan was said to be something of a man eater, to hear the boys tell it. Word was she’d castrated her boyfriend before running off and joining the gang. She didn’t really date or hook up, and she kept her shit to herself. Whatever.

Everybody had some sob story or bad shit in their pasts, and Gladion learned real quick that it was best not to ask people about it. Not that he cared, anyway. He had his own problems to worry about, like finding Lillie before their wicked witch of a mother did.

“‘Ey, whatchu lookin’ at, punk?” Blue Barney said.

Gladion blinked and realized he’d been staring into space in the dwarf’s direction. Angry at his lack of self-awareness and being here with Blue Barney and Lei Fan and this whole cluster fuck of a family emergency in general, he grimaced. “Nothing.” He turned his back to look out over the railing.

He almost groaned at the sound of Blue Barney shuffling over the deck on ungainly feet to stand next to Gladion—downwind, mercifully. Gladion glanced down at him. Blue Barney’s face was wide and oblong with full fleshy lips and round dark eyes. His nose had been broken and reset so many times that it looked like a child had squeezed a ball of brown silly putty between his fingers and slapped it on Blue Barney’s face, and it stuck. His dyed blue hair, his namesake and symbol of pride, was a sad flat mop on his inflated head, damp from the salty winds and his retching. He wasn’t so much blue anymore as green around the gills and haggard, but it seemed he still had some douchebaggery left in him.

“So your sister.” Blue Barney made a disgusting sniffle-snort sound that made Gladion cringe. “She shack up with the wrong dude or somethin’? Gotta call Big Bro to bail her out?”

 _Just ignore him,_ Gladion told himself. _He’s trying to get a rise out of you._

“She as frigid as you? Maybe she needs a real man to show her a good time—”

Gladion snapped and punched Blue Barney in the face. The dwarf fell back on his ass on the deck and spat blood from the blow. Gladion shook his hand out and wiped the spittle and bile from his knuckles. He towered over Blue Barney, ready for the fight to escalate.

“Shut the fuck up about my sister!” he shouted over the roar of the winds. “You fucking trash can, what the hell’s wrong with you?”

To his amazement, Blue Barney did not even try to get up and fight. In fact, he was laughing as he wiped the blood from his fat lip. “Ah, that hits the spot. Thanks, kid.”

Gladion looked down at him, completely puzzled, as Blue Barney struggled to his feet. The dwarf cradled his jaw, but he was grinning wolfishly, baring bloody teeth. The pain seemed not to bother him at all, and the exertion brought a little color to his pallid face.

“You wanted me to hit you?” Gladion said.

“Nothin’ like a little pain to wake up the ol’ sea legs,” Blue Barney said, like they were two old friends reminiscing.

Lei Fan noticed their altercation, but she didn’t interfere when it looked like the violence would not escalate.

“If you wanted pain, you could’ve just asked without bringing my sister into it. Asshole.”

Gladion was more determined than ever to ignore the dwarf now and leaned over the railing, his gaze steadfastly ahead on Akala Island far in the distance.

But Blue Barney wasn’t done with him yet. “You wouldna meant it if it wasn’t personal.”

“Believe me, for you I’d mean it.”

Blue Barney found this funny and guffawed. It was an ugly laugh, grating and choppy. “Ya know, I dunno what the boss sees in you.”

Gladion did not deign that one with a response. If he ignored Blue Barney, maybe he’d go away. It was a futile hope.

“What makes you so special anyways, huh?” Blue Barney goaded him. “You suck his cock or somethin’?”

“You wanna get punched again? And no, fuck you.”

Blue Barney grinned. “Nah, didn’t think so. You got that attitude. Nobody’d wanna deal with that shit, ‘specially not the boss. But I gotta know, Gladion.”

It was very apparent that Blue Barney wasn’t going to leave him alone, and they still had a couple hours to go crammed together on this boat with endless blue on all sides. Gladion decided to cut his losses, hoping it might get him off his back.

“Guzma found me and took me in, that’s it. There’s no big secret or scandal or whatever you were hoping for. Tell that to the others when you’re talking shit behind my back.”

“Nah, it ain’t _nothin’_. Boss likes you. He even let you go after your sister this time.”

“That was Plumeria. Guzma doesn’t know anything about it.”

“Boss knows everything goin’ on in Po Town, see if he don’t. What I wanna know is why you’re so special. Whatchu got that the rest o’ us pee-yons ain’t got?”

It had been this way since he first joined Team Skull, Gladion reflected dismally. Guzma had found him, as he’d likely found many other recruits, and gave him food and shelter and a job. But it was well-known throughout town that Guzma had a soft spot for Gladion, the youngest gang recruit to rise through the ranks and become an enforcer, and he was only a pleb. Why the preferential treatment? Why the promotions and attention Guzma didn’t afford to most of the others? Gladion even had his own room, squalid hole in the wall that it was, which was more than many of the others could say.

He didn’t earn it. That was what Blue Barney resented, what they all resented. And yet, here they all were on a personal mission for Gladion with no say in the matter just because he was Guzma’s favorite. Maybe if Gladion had been in Blue Barney’s position, he’d be suspicious and even a little jealous, too. But none of that mattered. Only Lillie mattered now.

“I’m a Titan, ya know,” Blue Barney boasted. “A _real_ enforcer.”

 _You’re not a Titan, you’re a fortynblod,_ Gladion was tempted to retort. But he held his tongue. Reminding Blue Barney that his blood was thin and diluted, that he lacked the power to control Dragons his Titan kin were famous and feared for, would have been salt in the wound.

 _“You need them,”_ Plumeria had told him before he left. _“I know you think you’re invincible, Gladion, but real strength is in numbers. In family. Team Skull sticks together, just like you want to help your sister.”_

“Why do you have to be such a dick all the time?” Gladion said, tired of it all. “I never did anything to you, so why can’t you just leave me the hell alone?”

Blue Barney looked at him like he was the world’s greatest idiot. “‘Cause you’re one of us, much as that annoys the ever-livin' shit outta me. If one of us is in the hole, we’re all in the hole.” He poked his stubby finger in Gladion’s chest. “But I don’t like you. Ya think you’re better than me, but you ain’t. So I’ll do this mission for Plumeria and the team, but I sure as shit ain’t doin’ it for _you_. Don’t you forget it.”

Gladion swallowed the burning rage and frustration and bitter hatred he felt for Blue Barney in that moment. He wished he could unleash Null on him, paint the deck with that diluted Dragonsblood the dwarf was so laughably proud of. But before he could act on the thought or force it out of his mind, Blue Barney grew queasy again and retched over the railing.

Lei Fan observed them together, but showed no interest in whatever they were doing. Gladion was glad of it and passed the rest of the trip in relative peace. They arrived at Akala Island’s Royal Avenue, where Team Skull had a boarding house that doubled as the regional headquarters. They were due to check in there, get whatever gear they might need, and set off through the Lush Jungle to Heahea City.

The greeting they received, however, was not a welcome one. Royal Avenue was little more than a main street lined with inns, a few restaurants and shops, and a sports stadium that was the town’s lifeblood. The Team Skull boarding house was one such inn, but they had no vacancy.

“You knew we were coming,” Gladion protested to the guy manning the reception desk. “Plumeria signed off on our mission personally.”

“Didn’t get no word from the boss,” said the receptionist. His lower lip jutted out naturally, giving him a perpetually spoiled look, like a child, and he was chewing on a pen. “Gladion, right? Got no record o’ you havin’ a mission out here.”

“Listen here, fuck wad,” said Blue Barney. “You’re gonna give us a room for the night. This place ain’t full up. Every time I came here, you always got rooms. Nobody fuckin’ stays here. It’s always empty!”

The receptionist was not persuaded. “I think you should all report back to the boss in Po Town.”

Gladion did not like the way the receptionist was looking at him, suspicious like he had a big knife concealed behind his back. Lei Fan laid a hand on the counter and leaned forward, giving the receptionist an enticing view down her shirt front.

“Check your records again. Plumeria made the call herself.”

“Like I said, I got no record,” the receptionist said, nervously looking between her narrow eyes and narrower cleavage.

“A room,” Lei Fan said soft as silk and arsenic. “Or I’m gonna come back there and shove that pen you’re chewing on so far up your ass you’ll be crying ink.”

The receptionist was no longer ogling her chest, and he gripped his pen so tightly his knuckles turned white. “I’ll...see what we’ve got.”

He disappeared through the back room and Lei Fan glowered at the door that swung closed behind him.

“Lei Fan, you’re a crazy bitch,” Blue Barney said. “I like that in a woman.”

“I’m not crazy,” Lei Fan said flatly.

They got their room, which had only one twin bed, a moth-eaten recliner, and a threadbare rug. Lei Fan claimed the bed and Gladion had no wish to fight her on it, but Blue Barney had a bone to pick. While they were arguing, Gladion headed for the bathroom to wash up.

“Yeah, whatever! I’m takin’ the couch,” Blue Barney announced triumphantly. “Gladion, you can have the floor.”

Gladion didn’t bother trying to fight him, either; he had no plans to stay here through the night, anyway. As soon as the others went to sleep, he would set out on his own for Heahea City. Golbat could fly him there easily enough, and he’d lose the baggage Plumeria had saddled him with. And so he waited.

Blue Barney got drunk at the tavern downstairs and passed out on the floor of their room, so Gladion settled in the armchair while Lei Fan stayed up reading her romance novel. He glanced at her every so often, wondering when she’d finally turn the light out and get some rest. If she noticed, she didn’t care. By the time she put the book away and turned the light out, it was after two in the morning. Gladion wasn’t tired, though. He waited another half hour after he heard her breathing even out, deep in sleep, before he shouldered his bag, stepped over Blue Barney passed out face-down on the rug, and quietly let himself out of the room. The door creaked and nearly gave him a heart attack, but Blue Barney’s snoring continued, and Lei Fan didn’t stir in the bed. In a matter of minutes, Gladion was outside and home free.

There were some people out and about on the street, late-night drinkers and gamblers mostly, so Gladion avoided eye contact and headed for the jungle where the cover of night and the trees would mask his escape.

The jungle was quiet and misty in the late hours. Gladion felt the fabric of his black T-shirt sticking to his back in the humidity. He cast about for signs of anyone following him, but found none. It was dark, the night of the new moon or close enough, and even the stars withheld their guiding light. He strained to listen for signs of trouble, and though he detected none, his palms were sweaty and his pulse quickened. He was sure he hadn’t been followed, but paranoia had a way of sinking its claws in quietly, always had. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched.

“Fuck it,” he said, reaching for his Pokéballs. “Let’s get outta here, Golbat.”

He released the huge bat in a flash of light. Golbat’s mouth opened wide and revealed sharp blood-sucking fangs and a lolling purple tongue. Leathery blue wings folded as he balanced awkwardly on his stubby legs. Gladion scratched him behind the ear.

“We gotta get to Heahea City,” he told Golbat as he prepared to climb aboard.

Golbat suddenly jerked violently and swung viciously with his wing. Gladion fell on his rear, and something went flying with a smack. Golbat bared his fangs and his gaping maw, large enough to swallow a Mareep whole. He puffed out his chest and spread his intimidating wings, shielding Gladion from whatever threat lurked in the night.

Gladion scrambled to his feet in time to see movement in the darkness. “Who’s there?” he demanded, reaching for his remaining two Pokéballs. Footsteps approached, and a flashlight clicked on, blinding him. Gladion shielded his eyes.

“Running off, Gladion?”

“Lei Fan.” He recognized her voice.

Beside her sat a squat pink Slurpuff with her tongue out and drooling. But it was the Dark Raticate crouched low in a predatory stance that worried Gladion more. He was a huge rat the size of a beach ball and fearless like only the starving can be. Golbat shifted his weight nervously.

“What’re you doing here?” Gladion demanded.

“Plumeria knew you’d run off at some point,” she said, bored.

“Plumeria,” he said, his face flush with anger and betrayal. “So what, I’m the enemy now?”

“Depends on if you’re gonna make this annoying for me.”

Gladion shoved Null’s Ultra Ball in Lei Fan’s face. “You haven’t seen annoying. Now get out of my way.”

“Or what?” Her voice dripped venom, as if she couldn’t stand the sight of him. “You’ll send your monster against me? Kill me?”

“If it’s you or my sister, the choice is easy."

Slurpuff cowered in fear from Golbat, but Raticate bared his buck teeth menacingly at Gladion. Something glinted faintly, and Gladion realized Lei Fan had a knife. This alone gave him pause. He’d seen her use that knife before and knew he was no match in a hand-to-hand fight with her.

“Your sister.” Lei Fan repeated the word like a curse. “Whatever. Let’s go. You can walk back to the room or I can drag you by your earlobes, your choice.” She twisted the knife in her slippery fingers.

Gladion began to panic as he felt his plans unravel between his fingers. “Look, I don’t want to fight you, but I can’t go back with you, either.”

Lei Fan’s face was in darkness behind the light of her flashlight. “But you’ll fight me for your sister, is that it? Valiant knight forsaking everything to save the damsel in distress?”

Gladion said nothing to that. If she was making fun of him, he wouldn’t rise to the bait.

“You know what? I couldn’t care less what you do,” she went on. “Better for everybody if you just fucked off already, anyway.”

“What the hell’s that s’posed to mean?”

Lei Fan laughed bitterly. “I seriously don’t know what Plumeria sees in you. Spoiled white kid ran away from his rich parents and found life on the street a little hard? Boo-hoo.”

Raticate hissed and Golbat bared his fangs, but Gladion hardly noticed them as he reeled from Lei Fan’s accusations. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know everything about you. About your type. You’re dead weight, and if it were up to me, you’d’ve never been recruited. But it’s not up to me.”

“Then just tell Plumeria you lost track of me or something! You said yourself you don’t care what I do. If I’m just a burden, then let me go and let’s end this.”

“You’re a burden, but you’re Team Skull. To the rest of us, that actually means something.”

Gladion didn’t know why, but he felt his anger spike and twist into an ugly beast as his chest grew tight. He thought of Plumeria and her request to let her help him find Lillie, and he suddenly wished she’d just butted out. “I know it means something."

“No, you don’t. Or you wouldn’t be skulking off like a coward in the night.”

“I’m not a coward!”

His raised voice agitated Golbat, and the huge bat spread his wings and cast shadows over them. Raticate salivated, and Lei Fan held out a hand to stay him.

“You are,” Lei Fan spat. “Must be nice to have so many options to fall back on, hm? Yesterday Mommy and Daddy were mean to you so you came running to us, and today you decide some sister you’ve never even mentioned before is more important than the people who took you in at your most miserable, because why not? It’s not like we mean anything compared to your real family.”

The tightness in Gladion’s chest wrenched uncomfortably as he felt the full force of Lei Fan’s simmering anger, though for the life of him he could not understand what the hell he’d done to make her hate him so much. “You don’t even like me. What does it matter to you if I leave?”

“You’re more dense than a Boldore. I don’t know whether to judge you or pity you.”

“I don’t want your pity, or anything from you.”

Lei Fan watched him a moment, the stormy fury in her dark eyes controlled as she reigned herself back in. “Yeah, I can tell.”

She muttered something under her breath and pulled a crushed pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the back pocket of her black skinny jeans. The embers at the end of her cigarette made Gladion squint in the darkness as she inhaled, too bright. She blew smoke and watched it slowly creep skyward, as if the heat and humidity were too much even for it.

“You know why I joined Team Skull?” 

Gladion got the impression that she was going to tell him no matter what he said, so he just said, “Why?”

“Same reason as you. I was on the streets, couldn’t get work to feed myself, no other prospects. I was even a runaway, like you.” She took a long drag of her cigarette and blew a stream of grey smoke through her thin chapped lips. “Daddy issues, you could say. We disagreed on a lot. TV channels, bills, my clothes, the way he liked to put his cock in me while my mom was passed out drunk on the couch.”

Gladion felt the color drain from his face. Lei Fan blew a smoke ring.

“You know, the usual family drama.”

If she was expecting a reaction, he didn’t know what to give her. All he could do was stare dumbly as his mind conjured a series of jarring phantom images straight out of a nightmare. He couldn’t help but picture Lillie, sweet and demure and innocent, sleeping soundly in her bed as a towering faceless shadow loomed over her, a dreadful presence with dreadful intentions.

“I had enough one day,” Lei Fan said. “I know you’ve heard the stories about me. Those guys’re like school girls, gossiping like we’re on Good Morning Alola.”

“Are... Did you?” 

“...Cut off his balls? Wear them like earrings?” Lei Fan snorted and puffed her cigarette. “No. I guess it makes me sound like some badass revenge fantasy, if that’s how you wanna think of it, but no. I just ran, as far and as fast as I could, and I was too afraid and too ashamed and too goddamned tired to look back. The rest is what it is.”

“I’m sorry,” Gladion said, meaning it.

“Yeah,” Lei Fan said. “Me too.”

“Did you press charges? I mean... Did you get him back?”

Lei Fan’s smile took him aback, but there was something sad and lonely in her eyes that made it hard to look at her. “No point. He died a few months later. Had a run in with some vicious Bugs outside Malie City. Cops said it was a freak accident. Golisopod aren't exactly commonplace that close to civilization.”

Gladion imagined a grown man being torn apart by Bugs, huge Bugs with serrated pincers and spinning jawless teeth. Golisopod were eight feet tall and carnivorous, though they were shy and preferred to pick at the leavings of other predators. One could easily overcome a human if circumstances necessitated it. Or if it were ordered to do so by a trusted trainer with a score to settle and a family to protect.

Guzma had a particularly vicious Golisopod on his team.

“We don’t choose our parents,” Lei Fan said, “but we can choose our family. Blue Barney may be a trash can, but he chose Team Skull as much as I did. And it chose us. It chose you, too. For some of us, that’s all we’ve got, and it’s more than anything else we’ve ever had.”

Gladion was uncomfortably warm, but he’d stopped feeling the humid heat a while ago. He averted his gaze and shoved Null’s Ultra Ball back in his pocket. He had the sudden memory of Lusamine catching him vandalizing an Aether employee’s workspace, purple spray paint runny on the computer screen and pencil-drawn blueprint plans. She’d looked down on him with such disappointment and asked him why? Why would he be so thoughtless? Did he think he could get away with it? That his actions didn’t affect those around him? He shrunk his shoulders under Lei Fan’s heavy gaze and felt like a child all over again.

“Story time’s over,” she said, tossing her cigarette on the ground and stubbing it out with her toe. “Are you coming, or am I gonna have to drag you after all?”

Gladion fell into step with her with a mumbled word or two of assent, and they recalled their Pokémon and headed back to their room. The whole walk back, he tried to think of something to say to Lei Fan, but he came up short. He didn’t have a single goddamned thing to say to this woman who dyed her hair outrageous colors and liked trashy romance novels and maybe gave half a shit if not about him personally, then about his place in their misfit family.

Blue Barney was still snoring soundly on the floor, passed out on his stomach. A crescent of drool darkened the rug around his mouth and chin. He hadn’t moved an inch from where Gladion left him when he’d snuck out earlier, and he didn’t stir now as Gladion stepped over him and settled back in the faded red armchair.

Lei Fan slipped under the covers of the twin bed without so much as a word of goodnight, and the room plunged into darkness when she switched off the bedside lamp. Gladion hugged his knees to his chest and stared at the shadows in the corner.

He tried to picture Lillie, imagine her three years older than she’d been when he ran away from Aether Paradise with Null. All he could imagine was Lusamine though, the way she was when she was young and full of life. The way she’d been when Mohn was still alive. Lillie had always been the spitting image of their mother, but in contrast to Lusamine’s wintry misanthropy, Lillie was as warm and welcoming as a summer’s day.

Lei Fan turned in the bed, rustling the sheets, while Blue Barney snored away blissfully unaware.

 _They’re not my family_.

Null’s Ultra Ball was heavy in his hands, chipped and scratched from their shared three years on the run. It gave him some small comfort, and it reminded him of how far they had come together, the two of them against the world. But Gladion had always known that this journey had an end, and it was coming in fast. Lillie needed him. Mohn may be dead and Lusamine near as good as, but Lillie was still counting on her big brother, the only real family she had left. Without him, she would be alone. And without her, Gladion had no one. No one but Team Skull.

He drifted into a fitful sleep, all plans of sneaking off alone forgotten.

* * *

 

Hau winced when he heard Lillie smack another mosquito. All day had been miserable for Lillie, whom the mosquitos found delectable. Her bare arms and legs were covered in tiny red welts, and she rubbed her skin raw scratching them. They hardly molested Hau at all by comparison, but it was no less comfortable hearing her scratching and seeing her suffering.

“Hey, I ever tell you the one about the three-legged Litten?” Hau said.

Lillie was too distracted by the mosquitos and carrying Nebby in her arms. “Sorry, what?”

“Uh, you know, just a dumb joke I know...”

“I’m sorry, Hau, I’m just not really in the mood for laughter,” Lillie said as she smacked her thigh and crushed an engorged mosquito. Red smeared her skin and stained her dress, and she made a sound that was half disgust and half shame.

“Nah, I’m sorry,” Hau said dejectedly. “You’re miserable and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“It’s all right.” Lillie tried to smile for him, but it fell quickly as she swatted at another mosquito buzzing in her ear. “I guess I taste good to them. Lucky me.”

They’d stopped to sleep the night before with their Pokémon watching over them, and in the early morning they awoke to a frenzy of mosquitos feasting on them both. It was so bad that they got up and moved as quickly as they could through the thick brush in the hopes of eluding the pests, but there was no shaking them now that they had Lillie’s scent. He wondered about dengue and other tropical diseases the pests might carry, but decided not to worry Lillie further when there was nothing they could do about exposure. They just had to find their way out of here.

“Route Six has to be close,” Hau insisted as he followed Kukui’s Lurantis over roots and under vines. “I bet we’ll dump right out on it any minute now.”

Lillie said nothing and focused on swatting mosquitos and shielding Nebby from them. Stufful plodded along at her heels and snapped at them, but his thick fur kept him relatively safe from them. Passimian and Togedemaru were equally unbothered as they made their way through the tree tops, Togedemaru under Passimian’s arm like a football. Every now and then Passimian would shriek and birds would take flight, but so far nothing bigger than the mosquitos had bothered Hau and Lillie. Hau prayed that wouldn’t change.

“Hey, you hear that?” Hau said, stopping all of a sudden to listen.

Lillie ran into him and nearly fell over, but she caught herself on a nearby moss-covered tree trunk. The green moss came away under her fingers, and she gasped.

“Whoa, you okay?” Hau reached out to help her.

“I think so,” Lillie said, sniffling. “Why did you stop?”

“Sorry about that.” Hau helped her regain her balance and ran his hands down her bare arms, wincing at the many tiny bites that dappled her like gooseflesh. “I thought I heard water. You don’t hear it?”

Lillie took some small comfort in his touch and strained to listen. “Oh... I think I do hear it. Is it a river?”

“Dunno, but water should help, right? C’mon!”

They got moving again, and Hau did his best to ask Lurantis to clear the path of hanging vines and leaves so Lillie could pass through more easily. Water could mean many things. The Lush Jungle was full of winding streams and rivers that dumped out into the ocean to the south, and south meant Heahea City. But how far south? Depending on where they’d landed after the wreckage, it could be hours or days to the city. And the rivers were known to peter out into small tributaries that ended in flooded swamps. If this was one such tributary, following it might only lead them deeper into isolation and darkness. Hau’s feet moved faster as his anxiety mounted. Whatever lay ahead, it was either their salvation or their doom. He wondered what Selene would do, and wished she was here so he could ask her.

They made it to the river, which was more of a stream than a proper river. The rushing Hau had heard came from a series of small ledges over which the water flowed and ultimately emptied into a deep lagoon. Trickling tributaries spilled out of the lagoon in every direction, but his heart sank when he saw them. There was no following them, and they seemed to be no closer to Route Six or Heahea City than they were yesterday.

“A lagoon,” Lillie said, the relief evident in her voice. “I’m so thirsty.”

She headed for the water’s edge with Stufful in tow without waiting and sank to her knees in the wet grass. Hau’s heart sank. _How’re we s’posed to get outta here?_ But he swallowed his worries and tried to look on the bright side. They’d run out of water yesterday, and finding this freshwater lagoon was a stroke of good luck. He followed her example and plunged his hands in to drink. They disrupted the Surskit skirting on the water’s surface, scattering the little Bugs to the safety of their shelters.

Lillie panted, her belly full, and ran her wet hands up and down her arms to soothe the itchy heat. She sighed, finally experiencing some relief.

“Hey, we could jump in,” Hau offered. “Maybe it’d help your bites? I mean, if you want.”

“That sounds wonderful, but if I get these clothes wet, I’ll be itchy and wet.”

“Oh, well you could just take them off.”

Lillie looked at him oddly, and he realized his mistake.

“Uh, I mean, you don’t have to get naked or anything! Not that I’m saying you can’t if you really want to, like, it’s your body and your choice, um...”

Lillie laughed. “Hau, you’re blushing.”

He stared at her, mortified, and tried to hide his cheeks with his wet hands. “I totally didn’t mean it like that, I swear, Lillie, you gotta believe me.”

“I know what you meant. It’s okay, really. Please don’t worry about it.”

She was going to think he was some pervy creep now, great. If Selene were here, she’d never let him live it down. His face fell thinking of Selene, and Lillie noticed.

“Hau, really, it was an innocent slip. It was kind of funny, actually.”

“Hah, yeah...”

Lillie sat back and pulled her boots off. “You know what? I think you made a good point. I’m going for a swim.”

Hau leaped to his feet and nearly tripped over himself turning around to give her some privacy. “Uh, right! I’ll just, um, ya know...” His neck and face grew uncomfortably hot, and he was sweating again. Only when he heard her slip into the water did he look back. “Lillie?”

“It’s okay, you can turn around."

Her white dress was neatly folded on the grass by her boots, both dirty from the shipwreck and the trek through the jungle. Nebby was still passed out on the pile, oblivious. Lillie herself had submerged into the lagoon in her undergarments. Her white-blonde hair darkened when she dunked it underwater, and she was smiling. “The water feels lovely!”

Hau sighed in relief and sank to the ground. “I’m glad you’re feelin’ a little better.”

“Um, you know, you could swim too if you like. I mean, it’s so hot out...”

“That’s okay. I’ll, uh, I’m fine out here.”

“Hau, I can see you sweating.”

He wiped his face vigorously, but his sleeve was damp with sweat and offered little relief. “I guess it’s pretty gross out, yeah?”

“Look, um, there’s plenty of room.” Lillie averted her gaze.

Hau couldn’t help but laugh at himself and her and this whole stupid, awkward situation. “Man, we’re lost in the jungle without food ‘n stuff and we’re worried about modesty?”

“Well... I guess it’s a bit silly when you put it like that.” She bit back a small smile.

“Yeah, totally silly.” Her smile encouraged him. “Okay, I’ll swim for a bit!”

Lillie graciously turned her head while Hau stripped down to his boxers and waded into the water up to his neck. Lurantis had no interest in them or the water and wandered back into the trees perhaps to hunt for food. Togedemaru paced the edge of the lagoon, unwilling to get his little paws wet, but Stufful doggy-paddled in after Hau. He struggled to keep his head above water, and Hau had to wonder at how he didn’t sink under the weight of all that wet fur.

“You okay there, Stufful?” Hau said.

Stufful swam to Lillie, and she gathered him in her arms. “Stufful! Were you overheated, too?”

They both laughed, and soon Hau was relaxing in the cool water feeling marginally less concerned about their chances of survival. He dunked his head and savored the cool silky water on his bare skin. In the deeper center of the lagoon, tiny Wishiwashi flitted about in search of food among the reeds.

Hau looked up at the canopy, where Passimian was eating a bunch of Grepa berries and spitting seeds into the water below without a care.

“Hey, Passimian! Pass me some of those if you’re gonna be eating!” Hau shouted up at the huge lemur.

Passimian clucked and spat more seeds, but he didn’t budge. Hau sighed and sank up to his chin in the water.

“I think Passimian would rather eat all the berries himself,” Lillie said playfully.

“Hah, I think you’re right.”

They relaxed there for a bit, and Hau floated on his back and stared up at the canopy and the blue sky beyond. Was Selene already out of the woods? Maybe she’d made it to Heahea City and was dragging Kukui out here to look for Hau and Lillie. Or maybe she was still in the jungle somewhere, cooling off in a river or lagoon and wondering the same thing about them. He hoped she was okay.

Something sweetly fruity caught his nose, and his stomach rumbled. It smelled delicious and close, and Hau imagined fresh Mangost berries with cream the way Lani would prepare when he had dinner at Selene’s sometimes. He sat up in the water and concentrated on the smell, wondering if he’d imagined it in a vivid memory.

“Oh,” Lillie said, sniffing the air. “What is that wonderful smell?”

“You smell it, too?” Hau said, letting his eyes drift closed to pinpoint it better.

Togedemaru squeaked loudly, and Hau got up, startled.

“Ooh-la-la, you guys skinny dipping?”

Lillie yelped and plunged into the water all the way to her chin, and Hau lost his balance on the slippery lagoon floor. He landed on his backside with a loud splash that startled Passimian and earned a growl from Stufful. When he came up again, spitting and gasping for breath, a woman was looking down at him.

“Hi,” said the woman. “I’m Mallow.”

A Pokémon towered over her. The sweet aroma was overwhelming, and he realized it was coming from the Pokémon. He’d never seen a Tsareena in real life before, and this one was much more impressive than the pictures painted. She was six feet tall with thick jungle vines hanging off her like a lady’s hair, large dewy eyes, and slender leafy arms. Her legs were wrapped up in red flower petals, muscular and built to deliver kicks as powerful as any Fighter’s. Tsareena was lauded as a rare combination of wild beauty and natural power, but Mallow next to her exuded no such intimidating aura at just north of five feet and dressed in ratty cut-off jean overalls and twin tails.

“Oh, did I interrupt...whatever this is?” Mallow said, looking at Lillie.

“What? Hey, wait a sec, this isn’t what it looks like!” Hau stammered.

“Hey, there’s no law against bathing _au naturel_.” Mallow smiled brightly. “But maybe it’s a little odd to come all the way out here without any supplies and,” she glanced at their discarded clothing, “uh, heels? Is that a part of...whatever this is?”

Lillie had turned red as a Tamato berry.

“Whoa, back up,” Hau said. “You just surprised us is all. There’s nothin’ going on here. We were just swimming, seriously!”

Mallow blinked guilelessly at him. “Hey, there’s no need to be insecure. I’m not judging you guys. The jungle belongs to all of us and none of us. Make it your canvas and forget about everybody else!”

Hau was more confused than upset now. “Wait, how can something belong to everyone and no one at the same time?”

Mallow winked knowingly. “Love works in mysterious ways. Good luck, I’ll leave you to finish...whatever this is.”

She got up to leave, and Hau climbed out of the water after her.

“Hey! Whatever this is isn’t what you’re thinkin’! Hey!”

He caught up to her, but Tsareena intervened before he could lay hands on her. Hau was pushed back on his ass in the damp grass, one petal-festooned foot pressing dangerously down on his chest. Tsareena stared down at him with unfeeling dark eyes, her scent cloyingly saccharine and making him woozy as he struggled against her strength in vain. He coughed, and Lillie and Stufful splashed in the water.

“Hau!” Lillie said. “Please, don’t hurt him! We’re lost out here and we just stopped for water and to cool off!”

Mallow turned back. “Lost? You mean, you didn’t come out here to have exotic jungle sex?”  

Hau wheezed.

“No!” Lillie all but shouted. She was so put off that she stormed out of the water in just her undergarments, fearless and unashamed. “Of course not! We’re lost and hungry and we just want to get to Heahea City!”

“Oh, well, I could take you to Heahea City.”

There was a sudden rustling in the trees, and out of nowhere Lurantis swooped in, pink pincers poised and glowing white-hot for the killing blow. Tsareena hissed, jumped high to avoid the downward cleave of Lurantis’s Solar Blade, and came down hard with a Trop Kick that smashed the earth and sent chunks of grass and mud and mulch flying. Hau barely made it to safety, and only then with Passimian’s timely help. The lanky lemur swung down from the trees lightning fast and yanked him out of the way to safety, while Lurantis clicked and hummed in warning and faced Tsareena.

Mallow intervened like a referee breaking up two wrestlers, clapping and shouting for them to stop. Lurantis was a big Pokémon, a little taller than Tsareena, and those cleaver pincers were deadly sharp. But Tsareena’s Trop Kick was powerful enough to create a dent in the earth and carve out a new small tributary off the lagoon. Hau was stunned as he looked on.

“Shh, shh,” Mallow said. “That’s enough now, shh.” To Hau and Lillie she said, “Do you know this Lurantis?”

Hau nodded numbly. “Y-Yeah...”

Mallow smiled. “Then there’s no reason we can’t all get along. Lurantis, easy there pretty boy, that’s it...”

Hau watched in awe as she reached to touch Lurantis like she wasn’t in danger of being sliced open from navel to nose. The atmosphere was tense as the two Grass Pokémon faced off, but amazingly, Lurantis backed down and allowed Mallow to touch one dangling scythe with her fingertips.

“How did you...” Hau said.

Mallow drew a Pokéball from her pocket and quietly recalled Tsareena. With the threat neutralized, Lurantis tossed his head and retreated, though he stayed within sight of Hau and Lillie as he bent to drink from the lagoon, becalmed.

 _She must be a Sylvan,_ Hau realized. _Of course, that’s why ‘Rantis..._

“Come on,” Mallow said. “I’ll take you to Heahea City, but first we better get you some better clothes.” Her gaze lingered on Lillie. “...And something to help heal those bites before you end up with dengue fever.”

Lillie remembered that she was clad only in her intimates and gasped. She tried to cover herself up with her long hair, but only succeeded in drawing more attention to herself. She grabbed her soiled dress and hastily pulled it on.

Hau patted Passimian and headed to retrieve his own clothes, which Togedemaru was guarding valiantly from Mallow as if she meant to steal them.

“Thanks,” he said once dressed. “For helping us, I mean. We’re lucky you came this way.”

Mallow shrugged. “You’re lucky I’m too nosy to ignore two lovebirds skinny dipping.”

“We really weren’t, though...”

“I’m Mallow,” Mallow said.

“Right, you said so before. Sorry, I’m Hau. That’s Lillie.”

Mallow had a long freckled face, a prominent chin, and laughing grey eyes. She was skinny as a rail, and her clothes were worn and draped her bony frame.

“Hau and Lillie lost in the jungle. You guys sound like the beginning of a good murder mystery novel.”

“Oh, that's...nice,” Hau said, smiling uncomfortably and unsure how to stop.

“Not really,” Mallow said cheerfully.

Stufful climbed out of the water now that there was no one to swim with. His fur was soaked and hung on him like loose skin. He was so skinny and small under all the fluff, no bigger than a Lillipup. He shook himself out and sprayed water everywhere, including on Hau.

“Aw, man!” Hau complained, shielding himself.

“So, are you two coming? The cottage is this way,” Mallow said.

“Cottage?” Lillie said. “But I thought we were going to Heahea City.”

“Sure, but I have to get my supplies. I keep everything at Dad’s cottage. He lives alone, but I visit him when I’m out here. My apartment’s in Heahea City.”

Mallow spoke rapidly, like she had a limited number of breaths to take and too many words to fit into them. Hau got Lurantis’s attention, and soon everyone was marching through the jungle again.

“I’m a chef. I mean, not yet, but I’m training under one. I work at a fancy restaurant in the city as an apprentice chef, but I also come out here to harvest ingredients you can’t get anywhere else. Quality food requires quality ingredients, you know! Do you like food, Lillie?”

Lillie looked startled to be addressed. “Um, food? Well, yes, I suppose everyone does...”

“I knew it! You seem like you have a sophisticated palette. I could make you something if you want? I’ve been learning how to enhance dishes with aged Haban berry oil recently.”

“Oh, that sounds spicy,” Lillie said politely.

“Yeah, spicy! It’s a real Trop Kick to the ‘nads if you know what I mean.”

“I think I get the idea...”

Mallow led them through the jungle talking at a mile a minute as if she were guiding them down busy Pelipper Avenue. She seemed to know the woods well enough to navigate without a Pokémon to lead the way, and Hau wondered if they were really going the right way. But eventually they came upon a clearing in the thick brush and a quaint wooden cottage with a mailbox in front that seemed both unnecessary and a little odd to Hau. Was there a particularly adventurous mailman who trekked all the way to the middle of the Lush Jungle to deliver clothing catalogues and electricity bills?

“Welcome!” Mallow said. “Come on, come on! Inside now! Dinner won’t wait forever!”

A Shiinotic was buried up to his neck in the garden by the porch, asleep and soaking up nutrients from the rich soil. His bulbous pink cap shimmered in the sunlight, and he paid Hau and the others no mind as they passed to enter.

Inside, the cottage was as charming as Hau imagined it would be. It was cozy but cool with portable fans in the screened windows, two modest bedrooms, and a bathroom with clean, running well water. Mallow headed for the kitchen and started up the stove.

“Lillie, you’re probably itching like crazy from all those bites. Why don’t you clean up and I’ll make something to soothe the pain? It’s my special Mallow home remedy.”

“Oh, thank you!” Lillie said. “But I don’t want to trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble at all! You know, medicine and food both start with the same universal ingredient: love. You can’t go wrong with love!”

Lillie smiled. “I guess that’s true. Um, in that case, I wonder if there’s anything you might have to help Nebby? She’s been passed out for the last couple of days after pushing herself too hard...”

“Nebby, huh? Aw, what a cute Pokémon!” Mallow poked Nebby’s glittery head and grinned at the smoky woolen texture. “Looks like she’s worn herself out. Let me whip up some Sitrus berry salve. That should help as a start.”

Hau left them to it and headed for the bathroom to wash up, but when he went to the sink he found it filled with water and various flowers, freshly picked. Confused, he hesitated to drain the sink.

“Hey, Mallow? Did you want these flowers?” he called.

The flowers in the sink rose of their own accord all of a sudden, and Hau launched backwards onto the toilet in surprise. A tiny creature, yellow and wispy, rose from the sink dragging the string of flowers. Hau recognized the Pokémon.

“Comfey,” he said. “...In the bathroom sink?”

Comfey was a small Fairy widely considered the hospice healer’s blessing and the gardener’s bane. They had a habit of stealing the largest, prettiest, most colorful flowers they could find to make their Fairy wreaths and bestow them on people or Pokémon they liked. Comfey floated toward Hau and dropped the flower chain around his neck, where it came to rest and dripped water on the floor. The little flower sprite made a pleasant cooing sound and zoomed out of the bathroom, leaving Hau with his damp new lei.

“Hau? Did you say something?” Mallow called from the kitchen.

Hau touched a dripping red hibiscus flower hanging from his neck. “Never mind...”

This day could not get any stranger.

* * *

 

The Lush Jungle was dense and dark, the air cloyingly sweet with the smells of ripe fruit hanging in the canopy and huge bromeliads creeping up the tree trunks in search of sunlight. There was little to be had, but the bright red flowers found a way to survive, and Selene would, too. With Toxapex in tow, she was determined as all hell. She was Veleno, and if nothing else, the wilds didn’t scare her. Most jungle-dwelling Pokémon didn’t mess with poison if they could help it, and she encountered no predators or would-be opponents in her sweaty trek through the jungle.

She hiked for hours. The Lush Jungle was vast and covered nearly all of Akala Island save for the colonized areas where people had carved out a space for themselves. Even then, it was a looming presence, a slow-moving beast with a will to reclaim the island and all who inhabited it. No wind penetrated the dense canopy, and the heat was sticky and suffocating. The fleshy trees insulated the jungle to the point that Selene was sure she was being slowly stewed alive. Her feet ached, she was hungry, and she couldn’t imagine ever being cool again. Toxapex had to be recalled after the first hour or so, and now Vileplume hobbled alongside her, slow but sure of her direction. The question was only how long it would take the two of them to reach the end of this place.

Not before dark, apparently. Pikipek’s and Trumbeak’s drilling and drumming ceased, and Chatot’s symphonic singing quieted down. The night crawlers were out now: Kricketot and Kricketune strummed and stridulated, Politoed and Poliwhirl croaked rhythmically, Ekans and Seviper slid their scaled bodies up the tree trunks and through the underbrush in search of sleeping Yungoos to swallow whole. A few mustachioed Rattata, scruffy and black and tough as old leather, shrieked when Selene and Vileplume stepped too close to the decomposing remains of an Audino they were feasting on. Though they were numerous, they didn’t try to attack when Selene gave them a wide berth and Vileplume fluttered her poisonous petals in their direction.

The damp heat abated a little, and Vileplume found a deep freshwater lagoon to dip her toes in to soak up the moisture. Selene gratefully splashed her face with the tepid water and drank until she could take no more. Poliwag blinked up at her from the depths but scattered when she plunged her hands in. They could smell her poison, just as the buzzing mosquitos could. All her life, she had never once been bitten by the annoying pests. Her blood was toxic to them. A blessing tonight as she curled up at the foot of a thick Koa tree. Dartrix perched in the branches above, awake and alert for once as he swiveled his head around and considered if it would be worth it to expend the energy to hunt for some dinner.

Selene was exhausted, but her mind was swimming with thoughts of the jungle, of the wreck, of Lillie and her secrets. But most of all, she thought of Hau and the fight they’d had. Her anger held onto her like fingers closing around her throat, crushing with every breath she drew. She couldn’t shake them any more than she could shake the memory of Hau’s face, the look of sad disappointment when he turned his back on her. Between her thoughtless slip and his obdurate defense of Lillie, Selene wondered if things would ever mend between them. If they would ever put this nonsense behind them one day. She also wondered when she would see Hau again, if Kukui had come back for Lillie and him, if they were still waiting on that beach amidst the wreckage.

What did it matter? She’d left, and that was the end of that. And though Hau was a skuff, he was more than competent as a Pokémon trainer. Hala may never groom him to become Kahuna, but he taught Hau everything he knew about raising Pokémon. There was no genetic requirement to train a team of Pokémon. Wherever Hau was, he was undoubtedly capable of looking out for both Lillie and himself.

_Unless..._

She buried her head in her knees and tried not to think about the wreck, all those stars at the bottom of the ocean, bright and opened wide to swallow Lillie whole. She could feel them watching her even now, but when she looked around there were only shadows and glowing clusters of Morelull poking their heads out from beneath dead leaves in search of starlight. Dartrix hooted above and ruffled his feathers, oblivious.

 _It’s all in my head,_ she told herself. _It’s not real._

There were no monsters hiding in the mist. There was only her, alone with her thoughts and her anger and her shame. Selene hugged her knees closer and shuddered despite the heat.

_I shouldn’t have said those things to him._

And then there was Lillie, as mysterious as the presence that haunted her. She was an easy target to blame, but not at the risk of Hau getting caught in the crossfire. Maybe she’d gone too far with Lillie. Even if the secrets and lies were doing more harm than good, was it worth antagonizing Hau? It hadn’t even felt good to confront Lillie, who just crumpled under the slightest of pressure. And even then, she had guarded her secrets like an addict guards his stash—leeching off the goodwill of the gullible and giving nothing in return.

Selene burned with anger at the thought of Lillie taking advantage of Hau and Kukui and even Lani. What had she ever done for any of them but be a burden? She talked constantly of not wanting to be a burden, and yet it was her presence that led to their misfortunes on Akala Island. Why did everyone want to help her? What did they see that Selene didn’t?

Why did Lillie deserve the charity and kindness of total strangers when Selene only ever got mistrust and misunderstanding?

It couldn’t be fair, no way. But how could they all be wrong about Lillie? Could Lillie truly believe she was helping them by keeping her secrets? Perhaps. It wouldn’t be the first time Selene had been wrong, and certainly not the last. But even so, she was still stranded in the middle of the jungle after nearly drowning to her doom at the hands of something unexplainable. No matter Lillie’s intentions, the outcome had cursed them all nearly to death. She needed to answer for that, no matter what Hau said.

Selene drifted in and out of sleep that night, uncomfortably hot and sticky and visited by dreams of drowning and darkness. When finally she couldn’t take it anymore, she got up and splashed tepid water on her face, resolving to keep going despite the gloom. The sun was slow to rise, or the canopy was simply too thick for the light to penetrate it early in the morning. Selene made slow progress groping around in the gloom with Vileplume below and Dartrix above, but eventually the shadows retreated to make way for the light of day through the leaves. Chatot twittered and chirped exuberantly. Annoyingly, in all honesty, but Selene had more important things to think about, like getting out of this jungle.

It was easier said than done as the hours dragged on and on. Selene was so focused on the path ahead that she did not notice how the Chatot’s chattering drowned out under the roar of waterfalls. The air cooled, and spray glistened on her skin as she emerged from the trees and came upon a turgid river winding south. Beyond lay a deep lagoon fed by an enormous cataract fifty feet tall. A double rainbow shimmered at its zenith.

“Whoa,” Selene said, awed.

Vileplume and Dartrix were delighted at the prospect of fresh water, while Selene stood there dumbfounded. Brooklet Hill was something of a misnomer. Rather than a hill, it was a long series of waterfalls, lagoons, and rivers that ran through the Lush Jungle. The river before her was engorged with rainwater from the summer monsoons and teeming with Swimmers, from schools of Wishiwashi to glugging Basculin. Surskit danced on the lagoon’s surface too fast for the eye to keep up with them all as they skirted the plunging waterfall and weaved in and out of the mists. Tiny Fomantis fumbled in the grass and crammed together at the water’s edge to dip their roots in the cool waters and soak up the sun and nutrients. Wild Panpour and Simipour shrieked at each other in the trees and played in the calmer lagoon waters.

But it wasn’t the natural beauty of the clearing that brightened Selene’s spirits. Brooklet Hill’s rivers all dumped out into the ocean south of Heahea City. If she followed this river, she would eventually reach civilization without getting lost. Bolstered by this thought, Selene gathered her Pokémon and hiked south following the river. Her knowledge of Akala Island’s geography was mediocre at best, but she figured she would dump out somewhere along Route Six eventually, which she could then follow all the way south to Heahea City. The only question that remained was how long that would take. She tried not to dwell on it as she focused on making some progress before dark.

Selene released Qwilfish to follow her by way of the river, and he was overjoyed be out of his Pokéball in a strange new place. He leaped from the water and slapped the surface with his flat tail as he landed. Despite her situation, Selene could not help but smile at his antics. If Hau were one of her Pokémon, he would be Qwilfish without a doubt. Thinking of Hau dampened her spirits, though, and she pressed on with heavy feet.

The hours blended together, and more than once Selene was sure she was going in circles following the winding river. She foraged for food along the way and stopped to drink from the river periodically to keep her strength up, but she dreaded having to spend another night in the jungle. As the sunlight began to wane, however, that possibility was looking more and more likely.

Orange light cast a bronze glow on the jungle as the sun dipped low in the sky, and Selene wondered if she should call it a day and find a place to camp out. But as she was considering it, the jungle suddenly ended and she was treated to an unobstructed view of the bright sunset. An old wooden bridge spanned the width of the river, where Qwilfish poked his head out in question. Vileplume looked around, just as confused as Selene.

“Wait, is this...?” Selene saw a mile marker on the cleared dirt path and went to examine it. “Route Six! I can’t believe it!”

Somehow, she’d made it all the way here thanks to the river. She looked down the path, but it curved over a hill to the south. Far in the distance, she could see the ocean that hugged Heahea City. It would be a trek to reach the city, but one with a clearly-defined path and a stop along the way in Royal Avenue where she could probably use a X-Transceiver to contact Kukui or even his wife if he was out looking for Hau and Lillie. Hope reinvigorated Selene as she saw the end of this harrowing journey in sight, so close. She called to her Pokémon, and they set off once again, Vileplume at her side and Qwilfish swimming down the river running parallel to Route Six.

They just made it around the first bend when Selene heard voices. Two men had set up a tent on the side of the road and a graffiti-painted blockade. Another path diverged to the east leading to Royal Avenue. Selene hesitated when she saw them. They were in plainclothes, not police by the looks of them, and they had a Crabrawler between them busy eating from a pile of Leppa berries. She considered going around them through the jungle, but just as she was about to do that, they noticed her.

“Hey, you! Yeah, you over there!”

They got up and came to her.

“Hey there, you tryna get somewhere?” said the taller and skinnier of the two. He was a haole with a bad farmer’s tan and two Pokéballs clipped to his belt.

“No,” Selene said. “I was just leaving.” She hid her hands behind her back instinctively.

They stopped short of her when they noticed Vileplume.

“You gotta be goin’ somewhere,” said the second man. “Why else wouldya be hiking down Route Six?” He laughed at his own joke, amused. He was a local, copper-skinned and so thick with muscle that he looked like he might burst out of his wife beater at any moment. His hands were broad and long-fingered, the kind of hands that could crush a man’s windpipe as easily as an empty beer can. The Crabrawler belonged to him and followed behind him, his tiny eyes trained on Vileplume and pincer mitts dripping bits of pulverized Leppa berry.

“Looks like you’ve had a rough time of it, sweetheart. You come through the jungle? On your way to Heahea, maybe?” said the tall haole. He looked at her shrewdly, his blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. The brain to his meathead partner’s brawn.

Selene bristled at the pet name. “It’s none of your business where I came from or where I’m going. I’ll be leaving now.”

She tried to back away, but Brain drew out his two Pokéballs and played with them, a silent threat. “See, that’s the trouble. You wanna pass? No problem. But you gotta pay the toll. It’s just business.”

Selene tried to swallow her rising anxiety, but it didn’t work. Was she going to have to force her way past these goons? She needed a plan.

“What toll? You’re not cops or local government. You can’t charge shit,” Selene said. She slipped a hand in the back pocket of her shorts to fish out Dartrix’s and Toxapex’s Pokéballs.

“Ooh, she's got a mouth on her!” said Brawn. “I like ‘em mouthy.”

“We’re Team Skull,” said Brain. “We’re the law around here, and I say you gotta pay up.”

“Then I’ll go back the way I came.” Selene had heard of Team Skull and the trouble they caused people. Most of their activities were on Ula'ula Island, but their influence had been spreading lately, bringing with it a wave of petty crime and violence. They were not the kind of people she wanted to get mixed up with if she could help it.

“Go wherever you like,” said Brain. “But wherever you go, you gotta pay the toll first.”

“I don’t have any money,” Selene said, clutching her Pokéballs behind her. 

“Who said nothin’ about money?” said Brawn.

“Let’s have a smile, sweetheart.” Brain shuffled his Pokéballs between his fingers. Together, the two men advanced on her.

Selene was gripped with fear and fury. She drew out her Pokéballs, and the two men took it as a threat. Brain tossed out his two Pokéballs while Brawn shouted for Crabrawler to attack. Vileplume was ready with a Vine Whip that caught the punchy crab by the mitts and slammed him into his trainer. Selene released Dartrix and Toxapex just as Brain released his two Pokémon, a Sudowoodo and a scruffy Herdier. Then, all hell broke loose.

Herdier lunged directly at Selene, and Dartrix hooted in a panic and took to the skies. Toxapex slapped her spiked tentacles on the ground and sent a hail of Toxic Spikes flying. Sudowoodo managed to shield Brain with his rock-hard body, which was impervious to the poisoned spikes, but Brawn was wounded. The small lesions wouldn’t kill him, but maybe they would slow him down. Selene tried to leap out of the way of Herdier, but he Tackled her to the ground and snapped at her face. Hot drool fell down her cheeks as she struggled with the big dog.

Selene was overcome with panic and fear, and she did the only thing she could think of to save herself from having her face chewed off. She plunged her rotted nails into Herdier’s fur, digging deep to reach the skin. His paws scraped at her arms, and he managed to bite down on her shoulder. Selene screamed, but he had her pinned. She dug her poisoned fingers in deeper to the bone and felt the dog’s warm blood spill out and trickle down her arm. Herdier whimpered and convulsed, and he began to foam black at the mouth. Selene gritted her teeth and heaved with all her might and managed to roll them over. Herdier collapsed on his side, seizing and vomiting sticky black tar. With a final strangled whimper, he fell still.

Her shoulder was on fire where he’d bitten her. She was bleeding, but she could move her arm. All around her, the violence continued. Toxapex was blasting Sudowoodo with concentrated jets of water, driving him toward the river where Qwilfish waited. Sudowoodo was doing his best to kick and throw rocks at Toxapex. One particularly large one smacked Toxapex’s crown, and the Brutal Star Pokémon let out an awful grinding noise. Some of her spikes broke off, but she pressed on. Vileplume still had Crabrawler entangled in her vines, but the crab’s superior physical strength was snapping the vines and soon he would be free. Brawn was moving sluggishly due to the Toxic Spikes, but he was tearing at Vileplume’s vines to free his Pokémon.

“Damnit, Dartrix! Help Vileplume!” Selene shouted at the circling owl. “Use Razor Leaf!”

Dartrix swooped in to do just that, but Brawn managed to free Crabrawler, and Crabrawler spun and met Dartrix with a mean Dizzy Punch that sent the bird ricocheting back. Feathers flew everywhere, and Dartrix landed hard on the ground.

“Dartrix!”

But there was no time to worry about him with Brain coming for her himself. He spotted his Herdier lying dead on the ground in a puddle of poisoned blood, and stopped short, white as a sheet.

“What the...” He looked between Herdier and Selene, and his eyes fell to her bloody poisoned hand. “Fuck, you’re Veleno! Hey, forget this! Let’s get outta here!” he shouted at Brawn.

But Brawn was too focused or too stupid to listen. Vileplume whipped up a Petal Blizzard, but Crabrawler was on her in a flash, punching through the poisoned petals to send Vileplume flying. Toxapex had gotten Sudowoodo close enough to the river’s edge for Qwilfish to leap out and smack him with an Aqua Tail that knocked Sudowoodo down. The Imitation Pokémon went plunging into the water with a shriek.

Selene was not about to let these two assholes get away with attacking her and her Pokémon. Brain tried to retreat, but she went after him. “Toxapex! Use Liquidation!”

Toxapex, ungainly and slow on land, nonetheless used her powerful tentacles to launch herself at Brain with an explosive burst of energy. She spun, spraying water everywhere, and slammed into him as he turned tail and bolted. He fell and cried out in pain. Toxapex had smashed one of his legs to a wet bloody pulp. Selene couldn’t bring herself to look at him like this.

“Shit!” Brawn said, swaying on his feet a little.

Vileplume recovered from the beating Crabrawler had given her, but Dartrix was still struggling on the ground, dazed. Selene ran to help him while shouting for Vileplume to deal with Crabrawler. Dartrix was okay, but his belly was swollen and bleeding where Crabrawler had punched him. He hooted fearfully.

“Da fuck’s goin’ on here?!”

Selene looked up to see three newcomers approaching through the twilight gloom, and for a moment she felt a surge of relief that someone had come to help. But when they ran to help Brain, her heart sank.

“Holy shit, man, your leg!” A dwarf with shockingly blue hair styled like an ocean wave ran to help Brain.

“What’s going on here?” demanded the other man in their group, a pale young guy all in black. “Oh, fuck...” He shielded himself from the sight of Brain’s mutilated leg.

Toxapex rattled her spiky tentacles at them menacingly, and they backed off, wary. Brain continued to wail for help.

“Sh-She did it! Bitch just up ‘n attacked us for no reason! Y-You gotta kill her!”

“You,” demanded the lone woman of the bunch, painfully skinny with a sullen look and dyed magenta hair. “Why did you attack our brothers?”

“Looks to me like she’s got a death wish,” said the dwarf.

 _They’re not here to help me,_ Selene realized in horror. They were all Team Skull, and they were all coming after her now.

Self-preservation and fear drove her to her feet. “Petal Dance!” she commanded.

Vileplume vibrated and let loose with a hail of razor-sharp petals. The flurry of black and red descended on the Team Skull thugs like a colony of hungry bats, and the thugs shouted and tried to protect themselves in vain.

“Toxapex, to me!” Selene said. If she could just distract these guys long enough, maybe she could escape with her life. But it was getting dark, and she didn’t know these woods. Her best bet was to get past them and make a run for it.

Brawn had finally succumbed to the poison and lay supine on the ground, unmoving. He would be paralyzed until the venom wore off, the threat neutralized. Crabrawler suffered numerous lesions from Vileplume’s Petal Dance and was losing too much blood. He swayed on his spider feet, dazed.

But the newcomers were still standing. White light flashed, and more enemy Pokémon joined the fray. A hissing Salandit was joined by a fat black Raticate. A wintry blue Sandslash reflected the last of the dying sun’s light off his wicked steel claws. He was small and unimpressive, however, next to the huge, quadrupedal monstrosity towering over him that Selene didn’t recognize. The haole youth stood with them, blood dripping from a nasty gash on his cheek where Vileplume’s petals had sliced him.

“Whoever you are, you just made a big mistake,” he said. “Null, Sandslash! Attack!”

“Oh, shit!” Selene dashed away, and Dartrix took flight once again.

Toxapex was there with another Toxic Spikes, which deterred the advancing Pokémon and their trainers. All except that Sandslash, who barreled through the venomous needles as if they were nothing but a ticklish rain. He was a silver bullet zigzagging to throw Toxapex off-guard, and he slammed into her like a wrecking ball with a devastating Icicle Crash. Toxapex flailed and smacked him away with her strong, armored tentacles, oblivious to the crushing pain where Sandslash had made a dent.

Raticate was just as quick as Sandslash and scuttled to catch up. He leaped, fangs bared, and Selene gasped and fell back to avoid the deadly Hyper Fang in the nick of time. She landed hard on her already wounded shoulder and cried out. Qwilfish did what he could to shoot jets of pressurized water from the river, annoying Raticate and keeping him busy for the moment.

Vileplume was busy with Salandit and having a tough time of it with Salandit’s fire. But before Selene could figure out a way to help her, the pale youth shouted, “Null! Use Crush Claw!”

The monster called Null ran at Selene and Toxapex like a predatory cat hunting down his fleeing dinner. His claw was scaly and green, and it didn’t match his furry, black body and magnificent, white-feathered mane. Through the slits in his helmet, mismatched black and silver eyes stared unblinking, empty. Selene had never seen anything like him before, like he was made up of pieces of other beasts grafted together for some dark and terrible purpose.

Out of nowhere, Dartrix swooped in and hit Null’s helmet with a reckless Brave Bird attack Selene didn’t even know he knew how to do. Null roared and ate dirt, giving Selene enough time to hide behind Toxapex. His helmet cracked but did not break.

Everywhere she looked, her Pokémon were desperately fighting to protect her from these Team Skull thugs, possibly to their doom. Vileplume’s vines were on fire as she struggled against Salandit, and Selene had no choice but to recall her before she burned to death. This drew Salandit’s attention to her, and he slithered to her, forked tongue lolling and spewing smoke. But Selene was more concerned about Null and his trainer.

“Why are you doing this?” he shouted.

“Why are _you_?!” Selene shouted right back. “They attacked me! Not the other way around!”

He stared at her in surprise. “Wait, what?”

Dartrix was back with another swooping attack, but this time Null was ready and jumped to meet him. With a sickening crack, Null Crush Clawed Dartrix just as he attempted to swerve out of the way, and the two of them crashed to the earth together. Selene watched it all happen in the blink of an eye, helpless to stop it.

“Dartrix!” she screamed, tears filling her eyes as she ran.

The crack of Dartrix’s bones when Null crashed into him went off like bombs in her head, filling her with nothing but the pain and fear. She fell to the ground over Dartrix, what was left of him. His body was bent and broken, contorted beyond repair. One of his wings had been torn off, hanging on by a thin flap of featherless, bloody skin. Bones poked out of him, red and feathered. He was bleeding out and convulsing, and she clutched his warped face.

“No, no, no!” she cried, her tears freely falling now. “Please, no!”

Dartrix’s end was violent but abrupt, leaving no precious seconds even to hope.

Null's trainer looked on, stunned speechless, and for a moment everything seemed to fall still. Except for the sounds of Dartrix’s bones breaking. Except for the feel of his blood growing cold between her fingers. Except for the anger, the agony, the hatred she couldn’t hold onto anymore.

Selene rose in a single fluid motion, like a wraith rising from the depths of some hellish underworld. She moved without thinking, each step in time to the breaking and creaking that echoed in her memory, faster and louder as she picked up speed and raised her poisoned right hand. The pale youth said something, but it didn’t matter what he said anymore. Her blighted fingers itched to sink into his neck, to rip him apart. Selene let out an agonized scream and lunged.

But she never reached her target. Her fingers sank into something soft and warm, but the flesh was black and hairy instead of pale and smooth. Null had intercepted her, and she drove her fingers deep into his hide. Like colliding with a brick wall, Selene felt all the air leave her lungs and her knees give out. She fell back and hit her head hard.

“Null!”

Twilight was upon them, a strange time that was neither day nor night, but a liminal place in between. Stars opened up like so many lewd eyes watching her from the darkness, and the world around her faded with the setting sun. Selene thought of Lillie falling into darkness, into those waiting eyes. Shadows rose like teeth closing around her, taking her away from this place.

Something cold and damp crawled under her head and lifted her. Toxapex grunted and ground her teeth as she surrounded Selene. Her arms were heavy the way they’d been the last time she awoke from darkness to find Lillie standing over her. Her head was full of sea water and the tears in her eyes gave everything a soft, blurry look, the way street lamps look in the cold morning mists just before sunrise. Null's trainer was blurry, too, his rough edges softened and his stormy eyes sad.

Null was crouched on the ground, bleeding from the gashes Selene had torn into him. His feathered mane had turned a wicked violet, and he struggled to stand.

“Null!” the pale youth cried, trying to revive his Pokémon. He looked back at Selene. “You... You’re Veleno...”

Selene didn’t hear the rest of it as she tried to sit up, but her head was underwater and the shadows rose up around her, threatening to swallow the world whole. Then she remembered Dartrix, and an ineffable feeling of dread welled up in her stomach. She was going to be sick.

“Dartrix,” she said, crawling around Toxapex to locate his remains.

Something was poking at them, lifting them off the ground. Selene’s dread intensified at the thought of something feasting on his remains like fucking carrion. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and fumbled around for a rock, anything to scare off the bottom feeder.

But rocks did not deter it, and she watched in horror and amazement as Dartrix’s broken body rose up. Bones cracked and shifted, and his blood turned to shadowy smoke. Dead leaves and vines slithered to the remains as if charmed, filling in the cracks and stringing together the shattered pieces. Dartrix’s black eyes filled with blood and began to glow with sight. He unfolded like a collapsible doll pulling its parts back together, taller and darker and more than he’d been. The creature that rose from Dartrix’s mutilated remains was not of this world.

“Fuck me,” said the dwarf, shaking.

The woman had no words, and even Brain writhing in agony on the ground had fallen quiet as he stared at the spectral spectacle unfolding before his eyes. Selene swallowed hard and rubbed the tears from her eyes. Was this real? Or was it a dream, and she was lying unconscious on the ground where Null had left her?

“Dartrix,” she said.

The creature looked down at her. His feathers were tattered and tangled with dead leaves and twigs, and when he opened his beak, only shadows leaked out. But there was something more there, something recognizable but not quite Dartrix, not anymore.

“D-Decidueye?”

She’d heard the name only in passing when Kukui had gifted her little Rowlet so many years ago. He wouldn’t stay little and cute forever, Kukui had warned her. One day he would evolve and change. Selene had been heartbroken over this news. If he changed, he wouldn’t be the Pokémon she loved anymore.

 _“He won’t be the same, no,”_ Kukui had said gently. _“But between you and me, Rowlet has a special secret. Can you keep a secret, Selene?”_

She’d promised she could.

_“Most Pokémon grow and change, yeah, just like people. And just like people, one day they die. But not Rowlet. If you’re kind to him and love him well, not even death can come between you. But you have to remember not to be afraid, yeah? Ghosts feed on fear, and they’re always hungry.”_

Decidueye was a Ghost, and he looked very hungry.

“Decidueye,” Selene said again, straining to sound strong. She struggled to her feet. “You... You’re alive. I thought...”

Decidueye watched her carefully. He was much larger than Dartrix had been, his face hooded in shadows and those glowing red eyes unblinking and spooky. Toxapex rattled her tentacles, wary of the Ghost’s presence, but when he approached Selene, she bravely held her ground. He towered over her, easily large enough for a man to mount, and he exuded a cold silence the likes of which she’d never known. He was terrifying, but she could not bring herself to look away.

He tilted his head the way Dartrix used to do, and Rowlet before him, as if to say, ‘How do you do?’

Selene choked on a sob at the intimate gesture. It was him, somewhere in there, he had held on.

“Enough,” said the woman. “Gladion, let’s finish this and get them to a hospital before this shit head bleeds out.”

Her voice drew Decidueye’s attention, and he swiveled his head around as though it were no longer attached to his body. The dwarf cursed.

“Fuck this, we gotta get outta here!” he said, recalling Salandit.

But Decidueye had other plans and spread his wings. Selene could only watch as he rose high into the darkling sky, and it seemed to her that the stars shrank in fear of him. He was a shudder against the darkness, and when he flapped his wings, he rained down phantom feathers and dead leaves like a hail of arrows, silent as the grave.

The dwarf shrieked and ran, and Gladion tried to shield himself, but he refused to abandon his Pokémon. The Spirit Shackle arrows struck the ground and sucked the life out of the grass and earth wherever their poisonous miasma spread, rotting everything they touched. Even the river water bubbled and steamed black where they landed, spooking Qwilfish and sending him diving underwater to safety. A few of the arrows hit Brain still wailing on the ground, and he convulsed grotesquely. Shimmering white smoke rose from the holes the phantom arrows made in his flesh and dissolved. He fell still soon after.

All of a sudden, Null rose up and roared, jaws snapping and paws scraping at the arrows that fell around him, sheltering Gladion from harm. Selene watched, amazed that he was still standing and even fighting when her Veleno poison should have dropped him the way it had Herdier earlier.

Selene realized that if she was going to escape here in one piece, it had to be now. Her head throbbed and her shoulder was still bleeding, but she worked through the pain to recall all her Pokémon save for Decidueye.

“Decidueye!” she shouted. “Let’s get out of here!”

The undead owl swooped down without even kicking up a tailwind. He landed hard and his talons sank into the earth, further spreading his enervating rot to the living plants he came into contact with. He smelled of old blood and soil, and faintly sour like meat left out in the sun. Selene clambered awkwardly onto his back and held on with both hands as he immediately took off again into the night.

Below, Gladion watched her fly off with Sandslash and Null at his side. Selene buried her face in Decidueye’s feathered back and shuddered. It wasn’t until later that she realized she’d been clutching him with her bare hands, those poisoned nails piercing his flesh to no effect. After all, there was no killing what was already dead.


	7. The Last Princess -or- Big Bad Guzma

She emerged with the fog and walked on water. Her toes were chilled as they traversed the ancient stone path, sunk just beneath the lake’s surface and invisible in the mists that followed her. Wisteria trees draped in indigo dipped their long tresses in the hazy waters, like forest nymphs bathing at the shore. The sea glass lanterns hanging in their branches glowed blue and white, illuminating the lake ruins in a muted afterglow. It was quiet here. She could hear her footsteps softly sloshing the water as she walked, following a path she could not see. But she was not afraid, for she’d walked this path a thousand times before and knew her way. 

It was the night of the new moon, a time when even the night crawlers remained hidden in their holes and hovels, and so Acerola, a girl of sixteen, walked alone, as she did every month when the moon was dark and she made her journey to this place. The Lake of the Sunne must always have light, and when none came, she brought it with her. 

The sea glass lantern she carried matched the others, its light small and white. It painted her in shadows, the midnight blues and blacks of her shift, the murky violet of her eyes. Hers were old eyes. Violet was her family’s color, the mark of her inheritance, but few alive today knew it. She was the last of her line, the only survivor of a world long since forgotten along with those who’d once ruled it. In that world, she may have been a princess; in this world, she was no one. 

But even the lonely and forgotten have their purpose. She performed it every month on the night of the new moon, bringing light to this place that was as much a relic of a lost world as she was, and yet it lingered in silence. Silence was good. As long as it was quiet, she knew she was alone here. 

Acerola swung her lantern around, and the mists swirled about her ankles and billowed with her skirt. She breathed deeply and listened, satisfied that all was as it should be. The drowned altar was just ahead in the center of the lake, her final destination. Broken stone pillars caged in the simple structure. Once it had been magnificent, as all ancient things once were. If she closed her eyes, she might just imagine it: the painted pillars, the paper lanterns, the people watching in their canoes offering prayers and alms for the enduring peace they enjoyed. But the columns were crumbling, the paper lanterns long ago burned up, and the people dead and gone. There was only her, but she offered her own prayers and alms and hoped it would be enough this month as it was the last. 

She opened the top of her lantern and pulled out the thick white candle inside. She held it tenderly in both hands and offered it a brass bowl of freshwater pearls and dried moonflower petals she had prepared. The flames caught, and Acerola watched them turn from yellow to indigo as they burned but did not consume. The milky smoke they gave off smelled sweet, and Acerola set the bowl on the altar. She watched as the pearls and petals melted together and bubbled over the edges of the bowl. The silvery concoction drained into carved trenches in the altar and filled them to the brim in the shape of a crescent moon, pale and shimmering like the moon that did not shine tonight. 

“Mother Moon, may you shine your silver light and protect us from harm on this darkest of nights,” Acerola said. 

The silver offering set in the cracks, to remain until the next new moon when its light would fade and need rekindling. Satisfied, she scooped up the thick candle she’d set aside, and it squirmed in her hands. 

“Shh, Litwick, just a little longer.”

Yellow eyes opened up in the wax and stared up at Acerola. The candle flame burned a baleful indigo, and she felt the velvety whisper of a voice upon the shell of her ear. But when she looked, there was no one there. Litwick’s candle flame danced with mirth, his waxy body uncomfortably warm in her hands. Acerola quickly returned him to the sea glass lantern, where he would be unable to siphon her heat. Litwick was a curious Ghost, small and usually docile, but if left to his own devices, he could be as ravenous as any other. If Acerola were a true Medium like the kings and queens from whom she was descended, perhaps she could be enough for the candle Ghost. But she was not, and if she gave too much, Litwick would take it all until there was nothing left of her. 

She made her way back to the shore, her footsteps softly splashing, when she heard something odd. Groaning, like a creature in pain, made her shiver, and she turned back. The groaning sounded again, and she saw one of the stone pillars guarding the altar move. Not move, crack. Acerola gasped, and the pillar snapped under unseen pressure. Stone shattered and crumbled into the lake, scattering the mists. She was so startled that her feet would not budge, and she watched as the altar began to glow, aflame and wreathed in violet. Litwick’s lantern rattled as the little Ghost within grew anxious, his flame roiling and angry. 

From the altar, the violet flames grew, and in the gloom Acerola saw a tapering bloated hand reach up through them, pulling itself out of the very stone. The flames burst and popped, and hissing laughter bubbled up like boiling water overflowing from a pot left too long on the stovetop. A head without eyes emerged from the flames, and yet Acerola could feel its deadened gaze and hear the whispers that buzzed around it like flies, so familiar. 

_A Ghost..._

She was so frightened that she could hardly breathe. The creature grinned at her as its head inflated. And then, it burst.

The explosion was catastrophic and blinding, and Acerola screamed. Blue and pink and white light exploded like fireworks, only to be drowned out in black laughter. The stone pathway rumbled and cracked underfoot, and she slipped and plunged into the lake. Litwick’s lantern went flying and shattered, and she was sucked under. Falling rocks pelted her, dragging her down to the dark cold deep, and no matter how she struggled, it was as if hands closed around her arms, her legs, her hair, her neck, dragging her deeper until there was no air left in her lungs. She cried out and swallowed lake water. Was this the night she would die? Alone and in darkness and paralyzed with fear? Would anyone even know what had happened to her?

The currents changed, and something slimy and cold wrapped around her arms and legs and torso, binding her. Her ears burst painfully, and she gagged, sick with drowning and vertigo. And then, she was gasping for air as the mists swirled around her and the wisteria tree lanterns looked on from the banks. Coughing, Acerola held onto the only thing in reach and keeping her afloat. 

“Dhelmise,” she wheezed, clinging to the rusted iron anchor. 

Dhelmise’s true body, the wormy sea fronds and flotsam that enslaved the remains of sunken ships and lost treasures, tightened around her arms to keep her head above water as he ferried her to the distant shore. Born of the bitter spirits of sailors who perished at sea before their time, Dhelmise was as feared as he was unknown, finding his place among sailor’s folklore and forgotten sea shanties. Few had ever found Dhelmise and lived to tell the story.

Acerola heaved when she landed on the shore with Dhelmise supporting her. She wiped the water from her eyes and looked around, her fear returning as she searched for the thing that had come out of the Ghost flames. What she saw shattered her spirits. The altar in the middle of the Lake of the Sunne was razed to ruins. The path leading to it was smashed and sinking, and there was nothing left of the altar but a smoking pile of rubble. Acerola pulled herself out of the water. If Dhelmise had not been lurking in the depths watching over her, she would be nothing but a bloating corpse at the bottom of the lake. 

A scraping sound like cloth ripping drew her attention, and her third and final companion came waddling out of the shadows, abandoning his post at the entrance to the site to see what had caused all the commotion. 

“Mimikyu, I’m all right,” Acerola said as the fey Ghost approached. 

Mimikyu looked at her with false eyes, mismatched buttons haphazardly sewn into the soiled rags he wore to conceal his true form. He looked as though a child had sewn together a patchwork doll and abandoned the project halfway through. But underneath that mask, Mimikyu’s true body vibrated with a vicious hunger the others could not match. Black smoke leaked from beneath the frayed ends of his mask, and shadowy fingers creeped out, digging into the grass around him and turning it to ash. Acerola reached for his covered head, but she avoided those creeping fingers that could cut to the soul. 

Mimikyu waddled around her, curious about the ruined altar. He gave Dhelmise a wide berth, unwilling to come within striking distance of his fellow Ghost. Acerola remembered Litwick and looked around for his lantern. 

“Litwick?” she called. “Are you there?”

But there was no sign of the candle Ghost, and her heart wrenched. Litwick possessed candles to remain on this plane, but if his flame extinguished and the candle was destroyed, he could not remain here. Acerola covered her mouth to stifle a choked sob. The faceless Ghost in the fire did this. She could still hear its malevolent laughter. Never before had she felt such insidious hatred from another creature. Even the most resentful Ghosts, those that hated the living, that cursed them and devoured their children, did not hate like that creature had. 

_My offering... He devoured it._

Mimikyu suddenly shuddered, and his cloth neck ripped. It was Acerola’s only warning before the sea glass lanterns hanging in the wisteria trees that surrounded the lake burst and shattered just as Litwick’s had, their lights snuffed out as though a strong wind had blown through. The lake was plunged into darkness with no moon above to cleave it. Even the stars had receded, frightened off by whatever malignant presence lingered here. 

Acerola stood petrified in the inky darkness. She could hardly hear a thing over the pounding of her heart. 

_Mimikyu?_

She tried to call out to her Pokémon, but no words came out. Mimikyu scraped around on the ground, and Acerola heard groaning, like a man in pain. Should could hardly see her own two feet, but her mind conjured images of Mimikyu crawling about, stalking something in the darkness, or hiding from it. What could scare a creature that was already dead?

She dared not speak, dared not turn her back, dared not let it find her again as she fumbled backwards blindly, nearly tripping over herself until her back hit something solid and rough—a wisteria tree trunk. She huddled under the tree and made herself small and silent and closed her eyes tight. And she prayed. 

Hours and hours she waited, scarcely daring to breathe. And when the first light of day finally cut through the darkness, she rose and ran from the Lake of the Sunne as fast as she could. All the while, she could hear echoes of the hissing laughter biting at her bare heels like hell hounds on the hunt. She didn’t look back once and didn’t stop to catch her breath until she was clear of the derelict holy site. Acerola collapsed onto her hands and knees on the soft grasses of Ula'ula Meadow, gasping for breath and praying this was a dream, a terrible, terrible dream. 

Footsteps approached. “So you decided to camp out, after all. Any reason in particular why you’d make me come all the way out here when you were supposed to meet me last night after your ritual?”

Acerola wanted to be glad to hear his voice, but him being here only proved that this was no dream. She took no joy in seeing him, and he read her dread as clearly as the sun was slowly rising in the east. 

“Nanu,” Acerola said, hardly recognizing her own voice.

Nanu snuffed out his cigarette and shrugged off his jacket to wrap her in. His hands were weathered and strong, a relic of his years working the fields as a simple man leading a simple life before he was reborn as the Reaper he was today. Sallow and sullen, Nanu’s traumatic transformation later in life had drained him of his remaining youth and vitality. In exchange, he was given the power to face the darkness. He would scold her for saying so, but Acerola wished dearly that she had his unique strength now. Not even Ghosts could frighten the things that thrived in darkness.

“Talk to me, kid. What happened?” he demanded softly. 

His breath stank of tobacco and cherry cough drops, and his aftershave was cheap and always generously applied, but it gave Acerola a measure of comfort now. And yet, she could not shake the fear.

“Something,” she said, her voice tremulous as she clutched at his old leather jacket. “Something terrible. The altar, it... It’s gone.”

Nanu was a man of few words, and he held back his words now as he looked over her shoulder at the entrance to the Lake of the Sunne. Mimikyu was waddling slowly out leaving a trail of rotten grass and moldy earth in his wake. Nanu frowned deeply. 

“Nanu,” she said again, clinging to his arm.

“What is it?” 

“Something’s coming. Something awful.”

Nanu looked at her with as much concern as a man like him could muster. He scooped her up in his arms and kept a wary eye on Mimikyu as he waddled near.

“You’re ice cold,” Nanu said. “I’m taking you home.”

“Please,” Acerola pleaded with him.

“Whatever it was, you’re safe now. It can’t get you.”

“No, you don’t understand. It doesn’t want me.”

Sometimes Nanu would look at her in a way that made her feel closer to her Ghosts than to the living. He looked at her like that now, like he didn’t recognize her and didn’t want to. 

“It doesn’t want me,” Acerola insisted.

“Then what does it want?”

All that hatred, all that malignant energy powerful enough to destroy the Lake of the Sunne shrine was undoubtedly a power as old as the civilization that had built this place and imbued it with centuries of ritual and faith, the civilization of which Acerola was the among the last remaining.

“Revenge,” she said, dreading the truth she knew in her bones and from which she’d cowered in fear throughout the long dark night. “It wants revenge on all of us.”

* * *

 

Ivy admired her reflection in the powder room mirror and decided to touch up her lipstick. Her black cocktail dress clung to her in all the right places, and she smoothed the lacy bodice. She grinned as she felt the hidden pockets where she’d stashed a couple paper-thin blades—a girl could not leave home without a little ornamentation. Not that she expected to use them on tonight’s dinner date, but old habits died hard. Satisfied with her appearance, she exited the powder room and made her way back to her table across from Gary. 

_Narcisse_ was an upscale restaurant that had come highly recommended by the staff at the Hano Grand Resort. Ivy had wanted to do something fun and romantic, but Gary had had enough of beaches and local street food and insisted on picking the restaurant this time. When he picked the fancy Kalosian place that boasted the largest wine cellar on Akala Island, Ivy was not about to complain about the opportunity to get dolled up. 

They were looking over the menu and trying to decide between the seven- or twelve-course sets when the manager herself in a red dress approached them looking like she’d rather be swallowing needles than dealing with them. 

“Welcome to _Narcisse_ ,” she said with an edge of annoyance to her tone. “What are you having?”

“I’ll have the _eau mystique_ course,” Ivy said. “With the wine pairings.”

“Occa berry mousse or Razz berry macarons for dessert?” 

“Ooh, let’s go with the macarons.”

The manager-turned-waitress nodded and glanced at Gary, who was still perusing the menu. When he didn’t look up, she frowned. “Well?”

“Just a question for you,” said Gary, only half paying attention. “How is the _coq au vin_ tonight?”

“The same as it is every night.”

Gary looked so charmingly befuddled at the response that Ivy fought to bite back a smile. 

“Right, okay,” Gary said. “And the pearl Ginema berries are—”

“Part of the dish. No substitutions.” She flipped her hair, which was dyed a luscious magenta. “Look, everything on the menu is better than anything you’ll ever eat again, full stop. So just pick a course, drink some wine, and go back to your luxury hotel and fuck your girlfriend. You’re on vacation; it’s not that hard.”

This time Ivy couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Gary looked marginally afraid for his safety. 

“...I’ll have what she’s having,” he said flatly. 

“There you go.” The manager took their menus and snapped her fingers at a passing bus boy to hurry his ass up and bring them bread and water. She stalked off without so much as a smile. 

“What the hell was that?” Gary grumbled. He tugged on his tie irritably. 

“The honest truth,” Ivy said. “I found her refreshing.”

“Of course you would. This place is supposed to be high class, and she’s the manager. How can she get away with treating people like that?”

Ivy shrugged. “You know, there are plenty of guys who shell out good money to hear a beautiful woman talk down to them.”

Gary shot her a withering look. “That’s just sad. I get it for free every day.”

Gary had been busy all day dealing with some personnel problems at the Viridian Gym, and Ivy had spent the day mostly on her own wandering around Heahea City snapping photos and meeting locals. His work was important, of course, but the problem was dealt with, and she was ready to have a nice romantic evening together. She got up and walked around their table to lean down and kiss his cheek. 

“You get a lot more than that, buddy. So please, take the lady’s advice and try to enjoy yourself. We have all night.”

His hand found hers and he turned to kiss her neck, but Ivy withdrew and went back to her seat. 

“Pesky woman,” he muttered, but his expression told a different story. 

Ivy smiled for him, and soon after a bus boy arrived with their first course. The rude manager was with him holding a bottle of wine in her hand, and she made quick work of pouring them out their first pairing. Gary swirled his glass and sniffed the deep purple liquid, but when he looked up at the manager to ask a question, she put up her finger to silence him. 

“No questions, just drink it.”

He did, though rather reluctantly, and Ivy watched as he lit up a little, pleased with the pairing. Before he could express his satisfaction, the manager turned in a whirl of red and glided away. 

The meal was quite possibly the best she’d ever had, and Ivy was not shy about telling him so. “I almost feel dirty,” she said as she swallowed a bite of a flaky Balm mushroom pastry. “Food this good has to be a sin or something.”

Gary was too busy enjoying the wine to respond with anything more than a nod. They were on their fifth course when there was a small commotion in the kitchen. Ivy stopped to watch as a young woman looking rather frazzled burst out of the staff’s side door carrying a large woven basket filled with various colorful berries, and then disappeared just as quickly into the kitchen. Ivy was about to go back to her food when the woman emerged once again and walked briskly through the restaurant while tying her waitress’s apron behind her. She nearly ran into a passing bus boy carrying a tray of clean wine glasses, yelped, and jumped out of his way, almost running into the elderly couple at the table behind her. 

“I’m so sorry!” she whispered her apologies. “So sorry!”

Gary noticed the scene and stopped to look. When the flustered waitress approached their table, he set down his glass. 

“Hi there!” she said, trying to sound cheerful despite being out of breath. “Oh, you’re on the escargot! I love that one. Chef really knows how to make them come out so tender, ah, it’s amazing.” She looked between them and smiled. “Wow, you two look fancy. Date night? How’s everything tasting so far?”

Gary smiled politely. “We are, and everything is delicious. Sorry, are you our waitress?”

“That’s right. I’m MalIow, and I’m here to serve. I was actually supposed to be here earlier, but I got held up coming through the Lush Jungle with a couple of lost puppies. It’s a long story. I’m actually an apprentice chef here, but tonight’s the three-year grand opening anniversary and we’re slammed, so everybody’s picking up slack where they can.”

She was trying to smooth out her twin tails unsuccessfully. A light sheen of sweat dappled her forehead and upper lip, but she had an honest face that reminded Ivy a little of Lily. 

“Hey Mallow, take a deep breath,” Ivy said. “Relax, we’re not a couple of snooty assholes looking for an excuse to stiff you on the tip.”

Mallow blushed. “Oh, thanks! Sorry, I’m just so behind today, and Malva had to tend tables because I wasn’t here...”

“Malva?” Gary said.

“Yeah, the manager. There, in the red dress.”

Malva was at the bar looking as sour as the aged cabernet she was pouring into an elegant glass decanter.

“Oh. Right, we met her. She was a real charmer.” 

Mallow laughed. “She’s a bit of an acquired taste, just like that escargot you’re eating. But once you try it, you realize how much you’ve been missing. It’s so funny because she and Chef’re married, but he’s totally suave and smooth... Oops, hold that thought. I have to check on that two-top.” Mallow raced off to tend to a nearby table wanting a refill on drinks. 

Ivy sat back with her wine and looked at Gary feeling rather smug. “How romantic.”

“Please don’t say something cliché like opposites attract,” Gary deadpanned. 

Ivy shrugged. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

“Did I give you permission to read my mind?”

He sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you, I can’t—”

“You can’t read my mind, yeah, I’ve heard it all before,” Ivy interrupted. “One of these days when we’re two old biddies sitting on the porch yelling at neighborhood kids in our yard, you’re gonna drop a plot twist on me and reveal that you actually can read minds.”

“Are you proposing we grow old together?”

Gary had a way of smirking that made her feel like a teenager about to receive her first kiss, and he fucking knew it. She didn’t get a chance to swallow her flush and respond before a dashing blond man in a stained apron emerged from the kitchen and tapped on a wine glass for attention. 

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “If I could have your attention for just a brief moment? My name is Siebold, and I have the great honor to serve you all tonight on our third anniversary.”

People smiled and clapped for him, and one elderly woman even whistled appreciatively. Siebold bowed slightly and begged for quiet. 

“Thank you so much for dining with us tonight. When my wife, Malva, and I decided to move to Akala Island and open a restaurant, we had no idea what to expect. But Alola has treated us very well, and we are proud and humbled to be the recipients of this year’s Lanakila White Star award, the highest honor for dining in all of Alola.”

The patrons applauded again. 

“Thank you, thank you,” Siebold said. He had a richly mellifluous voice as silken as the wine Ivy was sipping. “In honor of our third anniversary here, I’d like to invite you all to sample a new dish I’ve prepared for tonight, paired with my personal favorite rosé imported especially for tonight all the way from Laverre City. To all of you, our honored patrons,” he raised his wine glass, “and to many anniversaries to come!”

More clapping and tinkling of glasses, and then the staff circulated dishes and fresh glasses for all the diners to try. Ivy picked out Mallow among the servers carrying a whopping five plates on her arms and miraculously not dropping anything. Even Malva was patrolling the room pouring out rosé from a blown glass decanter and smiling politely. Siebold himself stopped by Gary and Ivy’s table and set down a pair of freshly filled wine glasses. 

“Mr. Oak,” he said softly, as if sharing a secret. “It’s not often I receive a Kantoan Gym Leader in my dining room. You and your companion are most welcome.”

He was even dreamier up close. Ivy wondered how someone like Malva had wound up with this man. Then again, people probably wondered the same about Gary and her from afar. She smiled to herself.

“Thank you,” Gary said, a little surprised. “I guess I don’t blend in very well even this far away from home.”

Siebold smiled. “It’s an acquired skill.”

_What does that mean?_ Ivy wondered. 

“This is Ivy,” Gary introduced her. “We were just talking about how delicious the food has been.”

Siebold nodded. “That’s kind of you to say. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourselves. Please do not hesitate to let me or any of my staff know if you need anything at all. I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your dinner.”

He bent to kiss Ivy’s hand politely, but when he turned to shake Gary’s hand, Gary tensed. Ivy watched him carefully but said nothing as Siebold excused himself and headed to another table, oblivious. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Ivy set down her wine glass and looked pointedly at Gary. 

“What was that?” she asked. 

Gary flexed the hand Siebold had shaken. “I’m not really sure.”

“You’re not sure, or you are sure but can’t explain it?”

She followed Gary’s gaze to where Siebold was conversing animatedly with an elderly couple at another table. 

“Gary,” Ivy said. 

“I think,” Gary said haltingly, “he might be Syreni.”

“Syreni? How can you tell?”

“I’m not sure, just...a feeling, when he shook my hand.”

“Okay...that’s kind of weird. That’s never happened before, has it?”

“No, I mean, I don’t think so. I’m not Ash.”

Ash was Gary’s childhood friend and a fully-realized Medium in his own right with the power to see the auras of Tamers and pick them out of a crowd. It was a useful ability, but not a common one even among Tamers.

“So then, what? Are you leveling up as a Clairvoyant or something?”

Gary was still looking at his hand, troubled.

Ivy’s expression fell. “That was a joke, you know.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t look convinced, though. 

A bright light flashed suddenly, and the lame-duck Pikachu Ivy had forced on Gary popped out of her Pokéball to land on the table. She yawned and scratched her ear with a hind leg, smelled the food, and began to lick gravy from Gary’s plate. 

“What the—Pikachu!” Gary made a swipe for her, but she ducked expertly and continued to lick the plate. 

“Wow,” Ivy said. “Awesome reflexes.”

“Ivy, help me,” Gary said, exasperated, as he debated lifting Pikachu. The little yellow rodents were known for their penchant for shocking people rather flippantly. 

“Hey, she’s your problem,” Ivy said, trying not to laugh at him. 

“Yeah, no thanks to you.”

Even so, Gary managed to lure Pikachu to the floor with the promise of a bit of Ivy’s macaron. She absconded with it under the table, where the cream tablecloth hid her from sight. 

“How did I let this happen?” Gary lamented. 

Pikachu poked her head out from under the tablecloth and blinked bleary black eyes up at him. She had pink macaron crumbs around her mouth and looked hesitant. 

“What?”

“Stop being so sour,” Ivy said. “She just wants you to pet her, right Pikachu?”

Pikachu continued to stare at Gary with those dark empty eyes, haggard and a little bit sad. She was nothing like other Pikachu Ivy had encountered in the past. 

“We’re in a nice restaurant,” Gary said, producing Pikachu’s Pokéball. “I’ll pet her later.”

He recalled Pikachu and shoved the Pokéball in his pants pocket, muttering something about how Espeon or Scizor or any of his other Pokémon would never behave like this. 

Ivy pulled out her Pokédex and scrolled through the entries until she arrived at Pikachu’s. “Hm, says here that Pikachu tends to take after the human companion she spends the most time with. Just like Uncle Samson said.”

“She was like this before I ever got her,” Gary said. 

“Yeah, but nothing’s changed.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?”

“I dunno. You’re the super Psychic; I’m sure you can figure out how to deal with one little Pikachu.”

Gary let that one slide, and Ivy rewarded herself with another macaron. They were finishing up their meal when Gary pulled out his own Pokédex and began scrolling through the entries. 

“There’s a lot of new information Uncle Samson uploaded on here,” he said. “...Hm. Looks like those Pyukumuku really do infest the beaches all over Akala. Don’t they have any natural predators?”

Ivy rolled her eyes. “One night. Just one night I wanted to go without you doing anything work-related, but no.”

He ignored her and continued to peruse the Pokédex. “That’s weird.”

“Hm?”

“There’s some kind of attachment here.”

“Attachment? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, some kind of extra zip file.”

“Why is that weird?”

“It wasn’t there before.” He trailed off as he stared at the small screen. 

“Gary? Hello?”

“It’s more entries,” he said. “But they’re weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Let me see your Pokédex.”

Ivy frowned. “What for?”

“To see if you have it, too.”

“I can check it myself.” She perused the entries, and sure enough tacked on to the bottom of the master list was a zip file. The name was a scramble of letters and numbers that meant nothing to her. “Hold on.”

“You have it, too?”

“I think so, just a sec.” The zip file downloaded and popped up a few more entry files, but there was something odd about them. “Wait, are these sketches?”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought was weird,” Gary said.

Pokédex entries all featured pictures of each specimen taken in captivity or in the wild. Oak himself had taken most of the pictures of the Pokémon native to Kanto and Johto. But the odd files had no high-resolution photographs, only hazy black and white sketches and stills, as if taken from a shaky video feed. 

“What’s with these names?” Ivy said. “UB-04 Blade, UB-03 Lightning, UB-04 Blaster...”

“That’s all there is,” Gary said. “All the entries are blank, no data. It’s just the pictures.”

“Wait, this one has more.” She showed Gary her Pokédex. “Cosmog. There’s a real picture, too.”

Gary examined the entry. “Who’s the girl?”

“Huh?” Ivy looked at Cosmog’s picture again. It was a close up, but the creature was resting in someone’s arms, someone with long blonde braids. “No idea. Her face was cropped out.”

“I don’t get it. Could they be new Pokémon that were just discovered? Why would they be in a separate file? And why aren’t there any proper pictures of the others?”

Ivy scrolled through the pictures. “Most of them are hard to make out. It’s like a shitty shaky cam capture.”

“I think we should ask Uncle Samson about them.”

“I thought he had that mahjong finals thing coming up in Malie City tomorrow?”

“Damnit, you’re right. I forgot about that. How does he get any work done if he’s always out playing mahjong?”

“Actually, he watches the tournaments, he doesn’t participate himself.”

Gary shot her a withering look. “...Anyway, I still want to ask someone about this. Maybe Professor Burnet will be working like a normal professional tomorrow.”

Ivy snorted. “Good luck getting anything from her. You saw how tight lipped she was last time when I asked about that weird ring machine.”

“All the same, I think it’s worth a trip.”

Ivy glanced down at the grainy picture on her Pokédex screen. Long teeth hung like curved swords over a black primordial belly. A faceless second head slithered from the serrated black depths, coiled as if to spring right out of the picture to gobble her up. Jaws with eyes and an appetite, an alien caricature of a frightened child’s nightmare.

_UB-05_ , she read the code name. _Glutton._

Her skin prickled with gooseflesh.

“Ivy?”

She snapped the Pokédex closed and repressed a chill. “Yeah, tomorrow, sure. Let’s do it.”

* * *

 

Selene had never truly understood what it meant to be dead on her feet until now. She had lost a lot of blood from the savage bite Herdier had taken out of her shoulder, and the wound was beginning to smell. She hadn’t bathed in days or changed her clothes on her harrowing journey through the wild Lush Jungle. She had fought for her very survival and witnessed her oldest Pokémon be brutally mauled to death, only to watch him rise from the grave and claim vengeance for them both. And she had spent what felt like hours clinging to his back and trying desperately not to fall to her death as he carried her south through the night. When she dismounted, it was on unsteady feet as weak as a newborn’s. Thoughts crossed her mind in slow motion, sluggish and disembodied, like trying to distinguish voices underwater. 

Decidueye was ever silent as he watched her stumble up the wooden steps of the wrap-around porch and all but fall against the red-painted front door. Selene wasn’t even sure how she’d gotten here—had she directed Decidueye as they flew? Or did he remember coming here before in his past life Null had literally torn apart mere hours ago? Selene was attempting to parse it out when the door opened and revealed a woman in a purple bathrobe.

“Sweet Swanna! Selene?”

Selene’s knees gave out and she hit her head against the door frame. Her vision spun, and something warm and soft caught her before she could crumple to the floor. 

“Stay with me, Selene! You’ll be okay, just hang on…”

The woman’s voice faded in and out, and Selene was marginally aware that she was being half carried, half dragged inside. She heard a rattling sound, like barking, and the smell of laundry detergent and coffee. There was blessed cold, ice on her head, and then a horrible burning in her shoulder that threatened to rip her in half. Lancing pain echoed through her body in waves of hellish heat, and she smelled flesh burning. 

_Me, I’m burning, I’m dying._

She had a flash of clarity, a moment of sight during which she saw the sky beyond the window pane burning, fiery orange spreading like a cancer into the fabric of night, and Decidueye’s smoky silhouette watching over her. Tears filled her eyes and blurred orange and blue and black until there was no separating them. 

_You’re dead, too._

She closed her eyes and receded to a dark pit where nothing could reach her, not the burning or the loss or the memories, and she stayed there huddled and alone, waiting. Selene did not know how much time had passed since she’d passed out, and when she came to, she heard voices but no words. Like coming up for air from underwater, slowly her senses returned to her as she registered her own breathing. 

She could feel her fingers and toes, the soft sheet over her legs, the firm mattress beneath. She tasted sour and dry, parched, and it hurt to swallow. There was a lingering smell of perfume, subtle and flowery, and the warmth of sunlight on her cheek. She opened her eyes and saw the sun shining outside through the window and remembered where she was. 

“Selene, hey there. Welcome back.”

“Professor Burnet,” Selene croaked. 

Isla Burnett smiled warmly down at her and laid a hand on her forehead. “It’s good to see you. You had me a little worried there for a bit.”

Selene tried to sit up, but pain burned her shoulder and made her gasp.

“Easy there.” Burnet helped her sit up in bed and smoothed her hair affectionately. “If you’re up for it, I drew you a bath. Are you hungry? I have a casserole I can heat up.”

Selene looked at Burnet. She was dressed casually like she was spending the day at home even though it was a Wednesday. It dawned on Selene that perhaps Burnet had stayed with her, tending to her wounds and monitoring her recovery, rather than heading into the city for work. Burnet took her silence as hesitation. 

“You know what? I’m pretty hungry, too. Why don’t you take your time cleaning up, and I’ll fix us some lunch, hm? Oh, and take this.” She handed Selene a glass filled with thick yellow liquid. “A Super Potion should speed things along.”

Selene accepted the glass. “Professor, I’m… Thanks.”

Burnet smiled. “You’re very welcome.”

Selene chugged the Super Potion and soaked in the bath, imagining the cure coursing through her veins and fixing what was broken. Her shoulder pain dulled to a manageable ache, the wound stitched shut the night before thanks to Burnet. Her head no longer pounded, and her thoughts came in clearer. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, a Rockruff was barking in her ear and excitedly running around the bathroom. 

“All right, all right! Damn dog, I’m getting out,” Selene grumbled at the over exuberant canine. 

Rockruff was happy to be annoying as Selene dried off and dressed in borrowed clothes Burnet had set out for her. She saw that there were no gloves, and that the ones she’d had on her person were nowhere to be found. She smiled a little and headed to the kitchen. 

Burnet’s house was a couple miles from the nearest neighbor at the edge of the Lush Jungle along Route Six. It was built to accommodate a big family, though she and Kukui had been married for years and had no children of their own. Selene passed by furnished guest bedrooms, an office, stairs to the second floor where more doors led to more unoccupied rooms. All those empty rooms and no one to fill them gave the house a drafty feel. But whenever Selene had visited here in the past, Kukui’s Pokémon had their run of the lot and the jungle beyond, and Burnet’s Rockruff filled the house with his incessant yipping. Neither Kukui nor Burnet talked about it much, but they had never been successful at trying to start a family. Even so, they remained here.

“Feeling better?” Burnet asked as she prepared plates for them. 

“Much,” Selene said.

They sat down at the table to eat together, and Selene was so hungry she wolfed down two full servings and slowly began making her way through a third. Burnet didn’t ask her any questions as Selene filled her empty stomach and got comfortable. Burnet was quiet but attentive, so unlike her flashy husband. Thinking of Kukui brought back the events of the past few days, and she slumped in her chair. 

“I want you to know that Vileplume and Toxapex are fine,” Burnet said. “I took them to the Pokémon Center downtown, and they’ll both make a full recovery.” She glanced at the window and worried her glass. “As for Decidueye, well, I haven’t had a chance to properly take a look at him.”

“Where is he?” Selene asked. 

“As far as I can tell, he’s been keeping close by. I saw him perched on the roof early this morning when you were still unconscious, but he ignored my calls.” She frowned. “It’s so strange. Niko and I knew this day would come eventually and that it would be difficult for you, and of course for Dartrix, but seeing Decidueye like that… Well, I’m just glad he survived.”

“He didn’t,” Selene said bluntly. “I watched him get ripped apart. He didn’t survive it at all.”

To her credit, Burnet simply nodded and kept her expression calm. “Maybe not his body, but a part of him did. The part that couldn’t let go of you. Dartrix loved you. Decidueye is proof of that. Most Dartrix don’t get that second chance.”

Selene poked at her food. For some reason, she couldn’t take comfort in those words. Decidueye was here, but Dartrix was gone. Not just gone, but obliterated. She couldn’t get the image of his broken body, nothing but a bloody ruin of feathers and shattered bones, out of her head. 

“There’s something else you should know,” Burnet said. “Hau and Lillie are safe. Niko’s with them.”

“He found them?”

“More like they found him. Apparently, they were wandering through the Lush Jungle and ran into a Sylvan woman who led them back to the city. When Niko went back for you all at the site of the shipwreck and you weren’t there, he assumed you’d all tried to get back here on your own and returned. Hau and Lillie ran into him on Route Four. They had to take Lillie to the hospital. She’s okay, don’t worry. The last I heard, they said she had a cold brought on by exposure. She’ll be okay. Hau and Niko are with her now.”

Selene absorbed this information with a mixture of relief and shock. She could not believe Hau and Lillie had braved the Lush Jungle on their own after the way they’d been adamant about waiting for Kukui. If it had been them to run into those Skull thugs… She shuddered, not wanting to think about it. They wouldn’t have stood a chance against that monster, Null.

_What was he?_

“Selene? Are you all right?” Burnet asked, worried. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Selene wrung her hands. She could still feel Dartrix’s blood between her fingers, hot and sticky. “Honestly, Professor…I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“Okay, I understand.” She reached out across the table and laid a hand on Selene’s blighted wrist. “I’m here for you, Selene. Niko, too. When you’re ready, we’ll listen.”

Selene stared at Burnet’s hand on her wrist. If she wanted to, she could kill her with little more than a handshake. But she didn’t, and Burnet squeezed gently, affectionately. Selene had the sudden and inexplicable urge to cry. 

“Hau and…and Lillie,” she managed, trying to think of something else. “I want to see them.”

“Of course. We can rendezvous at the Observatory if you’re up for it. Some fresh air would do you good.”

“Yeah, okay.”

They walked to the city and left the sprawling Lush Jungle behind. Selene was not sad to see it shrink behind her. Decidueye followed, but he flew toward the jungle and disappeared from sight for most of the trip. 

“Don’t worry,” Burnet said when she noticed Selene scanning the skies for him. “You can’t recall Decidueye to a Pokéball anymore, but now that he’s a Ghost he’ll be able to find you wherever you are.”

“How do you know?”

Burnet smiled like she had a secret. “I have it on good authority from someone with much more experience dealing with Ghosts than me. Trust me, Decidueye won’t lose you.”

They walked down Pelipper Avenue through the pre-dinner crowd. After her time alone in the Lush Jungle, being surrounded by people running around with shopping bags and cameras was an out of body experience, as if she were looking down on herself from high above. She looked up and spotted Decidueye perched on the roof of a tall apartment building, watching her, and shivered. 

_He’s watching over me_ , she told herself. _I saw him through the window, too…_

Even so, she could not shake the trepidation she felt knowing a Ghost was stalking her. 

“Hey, Professor,” Selene said, wanting to get her mind off it. “I should probably stop in there.” She indicated a women’s clothing store. 

Burnet nodded. “No problem.”

There were other customers browsing the selections, but Selene had a specific target in mind. A selection of gloves, from fingerless cotton to elbow-length silk, covered an entire wall of the store at the back by the fitting rooms, and Selene was a little overwhelmed by all the choices. She reached for a yellow satin pair and thought of Lani. She always preferred the bright colors. 

A woman with her young daughter were also looking at the gloves, but when they noticed Selene the woman’s pretty face warped in a mask of horror at the sight of Selene’s bare hands. 

“Good Groudon,” the woman swore under her breath and yanked her daughter roughly away. The little girl began to sob and dropped the pretty pink gloves she’d been playing with. 

Selene watched them go with sullen exhaustion. It occurred to her that she ought to be angry, that maybe she ought to march after the woman and tell her off, but she couldn’t find the energy to do it. The anger simply would not come.

“How about these?” Burnet said, joining her. “You usually go with black, right?”

She presented Selene with a pair of simple black gloves, long with button closures at the elbow. She hadn’t noticed the offended woman who’d all but bolted at the sight of Selene’s hands. 

“…No,” Selene said, crushing the yellow gloves in her hand. “I don’t want those.”

“Okay, what did you have in mind?”

Selene turned to the wall. What did it fucking matter? No matter what color or style she chose, it wouldn’t change what was underneath. Whether she screamed at anyone who looked at her funny or just walked on by, it wouldn’t change what they really thought. Not everyone was like Burnet, and for the first time, Selene was too tired to give a shit. 

She selected a pair of fingerless gloves, violet and black with fishnet sleeves. They were built for fashion more than utility, meant to draw attention rather than cover up. “These are the ones I want.”

Burnet examined them a moment. “You know, I think I’d be too self-conscious to pull these off right, but they’re going to look great on you. That violet is pretty.”

They paid and left the store, and Selene slipped on the gloves. The tips of her fingers and nails poked out, exposing both the pale and the poison. The fishnet reached her elbows, but her discolored skin was visible beneath. They were soft and well-made, and the more Selene flexed her fingers in them, the more she loved how they looked and felt.

“I was right, of course,” Burnet said proudly. 

“Yeah,” Selene said, smiling. She looked up and searched for Decidueye, but he was out of sight. Wherever he was, she was sure he could see her. 

“Let’s go pick up your Pokémon before we head to the Observatory, sound good?”

Selene felt her mood lift as they made their way to the Pokémon Center. Some people glanced at her hands as she passed, but no one made any comments that she could hear. And if they did, then fuck them. She’d reached her quota for caring about what strangers thought about her today.

By the time they reached the Observatory, where Burnet’s research laboratory was located on the top floor, it was late in the afternoon. When the elevator opened and dumped them onto the lab floor, Selene spotted Kukui and Hau talking with a girl Selene didn’t recognize. When she approached, Selene realized the girl was in fact a young woman, just petite and wearing her hair in twin tails that made her appear younger than she was. 

“Darling!” Kukui greeted them. “You’re here!”

“Sorry we took a while,” Burnet said. “We made a couple stops along the way.”

“Hau,” Selene said, a lump in her throat at the sight of him. The last she’d seen of him, he turned his back on her. 

Hau had been holding Togedemaru, whom he set down, and crossed the floor to Selene. Before she could think of something to say to him, he threw his arms around her in a fierce hug. 

“Thank god you’re okay,” he said. “I was so worried about you. When Prof said you came back hurt, I was so worried. Damnit, Selene, you’re not allowed to scare me like that ever again, yeah?”

Selene choked on the lump in her throat and hugged him back. It felt so good to be here with him, to hear him so concerned about her despite their fight, that she couldn’t find the words to respond to him. She just hugged him tighter and buried her face in his shoulder. 

“Hey,” he said gently. “It’s okay.”

She sniffled and pulled away so she could look at him properly. “I’m sorry,” she said. “What I said about you, it was shitty and I was wrong. I’m so sorry, Hau.” 

He smiled. “I know you are. It’s okay. Already forgotten, see? I’m just glad you’re back safe and sound.”

“I’m okay. Are you…?”

He grinned wider. “Yeah, thanks to Mallow! Hey, come meet her. She really saved me ’n Lillie back there, you know?”

They made their way back to the group, and Kukui was delighted to see her. 

“Selene! Welcome back,” he said. “How you feelin’?”

“Better, thanks.”

“Ooh, I like your gloves!” Mallow said. “You’re Veleno, right? Hau told me a lot about you. I’m Mallow.” She held out her hand to shake, then laughed. “Whoops, wrong hand!” She stuck out her left hand for Selene to shake with her healing hand. 

Selene stared, unsure what to make of this bizarrely banal gesture. With everyone watching, she shook Mallow’s hand. “Hi,” she said awkwardly. 

“Hi!” Mallow beamed. 

Kukui put a hand on her good shoulder and squeezed gently. “Good to have you back in one piece, ‘cos.”

“Hey Selene,” Hau said. “Is, uh, is it true about Dartrix? Is he okay?”

“Decidueye,” Selene said. “He’s not Dartrix anymore.”

Mallow gasped. “You have a Decidueye?! _Where_?! Can I meet him?”

Selene was convinced that Mallow was born without an inside voice.

“I’d like to take a look at him eventually, too,” Kukui said at a more conversational volume. “We’re due to pick up Lillie for dinner back home, yeah, so maybe then?”

“Sure,” Selene said. “Whatever you want.”

“Mallow, you’re welcome to join us for dinner if you’re not busy,” Burnet offered. 

“Oh, thanks! I’d love to, but I have a shift at _Narcisse_ tonight. We just had our third-year grand opening anniversary last night, which was crazy busy, like whoa. But tonight should be more normal, and I’ll be in the kitchen. Hey, how long are you in Heahea for? You should all come for dinner while you’re here!”

“ _Narcisse_? Oh, I love that place,” Burnet said. “Niko, we had dinner there for my birthday last year, remember?”

“Oh yeah!” Kukui said. “Good food, good people, and good fun! Well, maybe not so fun for my wallet, hah!”

He and Burnet shared a laugh. 

“Hey, Prof, me ’n Selene’re gonna go on ahead and see Lillie. Meet you there?” Hau asked. 

“No problem, ‘cos! Isla, you got a few things to do here, yeah? We’ll head out when you’re finished.”

Burnet nodded. “Yes, it shouldn’t take long.”

“Hey, I’ll walk with you guys,” Mallow said. “I should head to the restaurant now anyway.”

Ten minutes later, Selene was headed west on Pelipper Avenue toward the Pri Marina district, the most popular tourist destination in the city where all the hotels, resorts, and fanciest restaurants were located. Boats of all shapes and sizes, from gargantuan yachts and catamarans to sailboats to four-seater motor boats were moored in the marina itself, their masts a forest of naked poles and faded flags. Tourists were out enjoying the afternoon, and the early bird dinner crowd moseyed up and down the street scoping out menus and happy hour prices. 

Mallow walked on Hau’s other side and was talking about cooking and ingredients. Selene was looking around at all the people living their lives, blissfully oblivious. She scanned the rooftops, but there was no sign of Decidueye. While Dartrix liked to remain close by at all times, Decidueye seemed perfectly happy to disappear without a trace. 

“So, Selene?” Hau asked. “You, um, you wanna talk about, you know…? I mean, it’s cool if you don’t, just… You know, if you need anything.”

He and Mallow were both looking at her, and when she didn’t say anything, Mallow smiled. 

“You know, when I ran into Hau and Lillie, they were skinny dipping,” she said. “It was cute.”

Hau flushed. “Seriously?! How many times’er we gonna go over this? Me ’n Lillie were just swimming, that’s _it.”_

“Wait, what happened?” Selene said, grateful to Mallow for changing the subject. 

“Not that,” Hau said, and he proceeded to tell Selene the short version of how he and Lillie became lost in the Lush Jungle until Mallow found them and led them back to the city. “We got back yesterday, and Lillie had to go to the hospital to get checked out. But turns out she’s fine, thanks to Mallow.”

“My Mallow home remedies work every time,” Mallow said proudly.

“Is Lillie okay?” Selene asked. “I mean, since I last saw her.”

Hau’s expression softened. “Yeah. She’s… Well, I’ll let her talk to you about it. She has a lot to say.”

Selene was surprised to hear it. _So she’s finally decided to come clean?_

“I guess a lot can change after a few days lost in the jungle,” Selene said. 

“Yeah,” Hau said. “You’re tellin’ me.”

She wondered what she would say to Lillie when she saw her. Or what Lillie might say to her. She hadn’t planned that far ahead, and now she was drawing a blank. Somehow, if felt like the ground beneath her feet had shifted, the light had changed, the world was different today than it had been yesterday. She was different. 

_I killed that Team Skull thug._

As soon as she let the thought form, she felt her throat begin to tighten and her hands begin to itch. He’d been an asshole, pond scum, if not outright evil then at least an overall shitty human being. But did he deserve to die? Selene could still see him lying there on the ground, his leg a bloody ruin where Toxapex had liquefied his skin and bones. She could see him twitch as Decidueye’s spectral arrows pierced him. They never tore his flesh, and yet they must have severed something to cause that eerie white mist to escape him, taking his life in the process. Did he really deserve that?

And what of Gladion? He still lived thanks to Null’s timely intervention. Null was likely long dead now, though. The poison that had been meant for Gladion would have taken him by now. Gladion still lived, while Brain was dead. But unlike with Brain, Selene had wanted to kill Gladion, to sink her rotten fingers into his pale neck, to twist and wrench and rip him apart just as Dartrix had been ripped apart. Never had she felt such elemental rage toward another person. 

“Selene?” Hau said. “What’s wrong?”

Selene opened her mouth to respond. 

_I killed a man yesterday._

“I’m fine,” she said. 

“Really? You look like you’re gonna be sick.”

_I wanted to kill Gladion._

“No, I’m fine. Just… Just tired.”

“Okay,” Hau said, though he didn’t look convinced. “If you say so.”

“Oh hey, there it is,” Mallow said. “The Tidesong Hotel. Pretty swanky, eh?”

A huge resort hotel loomed just ahead. It was a pristine white building adorned with blue and green banners depicting an artist’s rendition of various undersea scenes in ethereal water color. The courtyard was massive and filled with people coming and going, electric cars and trams waiting for the valet, and a sparkling fountain around which a group of small children were playing. Beyond, the hotel’s private beach stretched for miles for guests to sunbathe, swim, and surf to their hearts’ content. 

“Hotel? I thought we were going to see Lillie at the hospital,” Selene said. 

“Huh? Nah, Lillie said she’d be here. Remember she was comin’ to meet her brother, yeah? Apparently, this is where they were gonna meet up.”

Selene did remember. Perhaps she really would get some answers from Lillie now, after all. 

“Well, this is where we part ways,” Mallow said. “I’m a little farther out. Selene, really great to meet you! Do me a favor and keep an eye on him, okay? See that he doesn’t go around getting lost in any more jungles.”

They said their goodbyes and Mallow started back toward the street when all of a sudden, a woman screamed.

“Did you guys hear that screaming?” Mallow asked.

Hau tensed. “That sounded like..."

“Yeah,” Selene said. “Hau, what’re you—”

“It was Lillie,” he said more confidently. “That was her.” He was already heading toward the beach. 

“What? Wait, how could even tell? Hau!” Selene tried to stop him, but he was already running. “Goddamnit, wait!”

What the hell was he doing? There were police and hotel security to deal with whatever was going on. Not every woman who screamed was automatically his problem. Yet even so, Selene ran after him. Mallow fell into step with her. 

“We better check and make sure whoever screamed is okay!” she said, taking off. 

Selene gaped as Mallow left her in the dust. As bony as she was, Mallow was damn fast and had the stamina to keep up her pace all the way to the beach. By the time Selene arrived, people were running in the opposite direction. People shouted and tripped over each other to get out of the way of whatever was causing the distress. Hau and Mallow had disappeared among those fleeing, and Selene had no choice but to make her own way. 

She didn’t have far to go. A small fleet of speed boats and a larger yacht floated just off the beach, and people swarmed the beach like Mandibuzz on carrion. Selene showed up in time to see a lifeguard getting the shit beat out of him by three guys in street clothes. A few people lay on the ground unmoving and bloody, though Selene could not tell if they were dead or merely unconscious. Pokémon of all shapes and sizes, from small Mankey to intimidating Pangoro patrolled the beach. And in the center of it all was Lillie, with Nebby in her arms and Stufful growling. The reason for her scream became obvious the closer Selene got. A huge Golisopod towered over her like a creature out of a sci-fi horror movie. His claws were long and sharp, and there was no doubt in Selene’s mind that he could snap bones as easily as dry pasta. 

“Lillie!” Hau shouted. 

Lillie turned and spotted Hau, Mallow, and Selene running. There were tears in her eyes and shock on her face. But it was the man next to her that froze Selene in her tracks. Him, and the aberrant beast next to him, standing tall and very much alive. Together, they shielded Lillie from Golisopod as if to defend her.

“Gladion,” Selene said, trembling as the memories of their fight swept over her. 

And then, it dawned on her, and she could not unsee it. 

_Gladion is Lillie’s brother._

The brother she’d been coming to meet with, the one they’d all come here for. The same man who’d killed Dartrix, who fought with Team Skull, the people who’d tried to kill Selene. It all came together, and like everything else over the last week, Lillie was in the middle of it all. 

“Hau, Mallow!” Lillie shouted. “Selene…”

Golisopod rattled his claws, and Null roared a warning. Gladion was focused on the threat and didn’t notice Selene and the others. There had to be at least fifty people gathered on the beach in nondescript street clothes. But with Gladion here, Selene surmised they were Team Skull back to dish out more violence for reasons unknown. A number of them noticed Selene’s party arrive, and now they were surrounding them. Seeing how they had dealt with that lifeguard and the other people lying face down on the beach, Selene feared the worst. 

“Get out of here!” Lillie shouted at them. “Don’t worry about me, just go!”

“What’s even going on here?” Mallow demanded of no one in particular. “Is that guy dead?” She pointed to one of the bodies in the sand. 

“Take another step, Golisopod, I fucking dare you,” Gladion snarled at the Bug. 

Golisopod brandished his bludgeon claws at Gladion, and Null edged forward in challenge. 

Someone slow clapped, and a man walked down the quay of the largest boat. He was a gaunt man, washed out with bone-white hair messily bleached and deep dark rings around his eyes. His clothes were baggy and oversized, and around his neck he wore an ostentatious gold chain. He was a corpse of a man with no mercy in his suspicious eyes. 

“Gladion, Gladion, _Gladion_ ,” the man said. “What did I say?”

Gladion cut a small figure next to this man, even with Null at his side. His companions from before, the dwarf and the woman with magenta hair, stood with him, but they too appeared cowed at the sight of this man. 

“Guzma,” Gladion said, seething. 

“What did I _fucking say_ , boy?” Guzma cut in viciously. “I got one rule. And whaddaya go ’n do? _What did you do_?”

“Rule? What rule?” Gladion challenged. “‘Cause the way I see it, your rule’s a fucking joke! That’s my _sister_!”

“Gladion, please,” Lillie sobbed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want this.”

Nebby squirmed in her arms, distressed. 

Guzma hung his head and sighed like he could not believe the inconvenience he was suffering. “Ya know, for a kid who ran away from home, you sure are _attached_. She worth it? These three years, everything I did for you, is this worth turnin’ traitor?”

“I’m not a traitor,” Gladion said.

“Then get the fuck outta my way!” 

Guzma’s sudden burst of rage sent Selene’s heart pounding. This man, could he be the leader of Team Skull? The longer she looked at him, the more unsettled she became. Lillie shrank in fear, and Nebby wriggled out of her arms. 

“Nebby!” she called out in distress. 

Guzma whistled, and Golisopod leaped into the air without warning. He was faster than anything that size had a right to be. He easily cleared Gladion and Null and landed in the sand with a thud, intercepting Nebby’s flight. Nebby chimed in alarm, and Lillie took off after her. Golisopod now stood between Gladion and her, and there was no one left to help her. 

Stufful charged at Golisopod, but the big Bug swatted him roughly away as if he were nothing but an annoying gnat. Stufful went flying and crashed hard in the wet sand. Lillie screamed and fell to her knees, clutching Nebby. 

“Please, just stop!” Lillie wailed. “I-I’ll go with you! Just please stop this!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” Gladion said.

“Gladion, stop this,” said a woman who emerged from Guzma’s ship. “You’ll only get yourself and your Pokémon hurt.”

“Plumeria,” Gladion said desperately. “Tell them! You sent me here to help Lillie, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Selene gasped at the sight of Plumeria’s exposed hands. _She’s Veleno, just like me…_

“Team Skull has one rule: loyalty to the family,” she said. “If you stand against Guzma now, you’ll be breaking that rule.”

“That’s fucking bullshit!” Gladion shouted. “You can’t expect me to go along with some plan to kidnap Lillie!”

Plumeria seemed to take no joy in her position. “I’m sorry, Gladion,” she said in a soft, contrite voice. 

“Boss,” said the dwarf. “Ain’t there some other way? I mean, she’s kinda his family, too…”

Guzma turned his sunken glare on the blue-haired dwarf, and he shrank from it. “You like that, huh? You think maybe I should make an exception for Gladion?”

“Well, uh, I only meant…”

“How ‘bout you, Lei Fan?” Guzma turned on Gladion’s female companion. “How do you think I should treat your _real_ family? You think they should get a free pass no matter what kinda shit they did in the past? Huh?”

Lei Fan averted her gaze but had nothing to say. Gladion looked at her like he didn’t recognize her. 

“All o’ you!” Guzma addressed the crowd. “You think I should make a special exception for my boy Gladion?”

No one said a word. Lillie wept softly in the background. 

“You hear that, Gladion?” Guzma said. “That’s the sound of loyalty. Every one of these guys would lose an arm for me. They’d take a knife to the back for you. What kinda loyalty didya show your, uh, _real_ sister? Leavin’ her behind for three years without a word—is that the kinda _loyalty_ you’re proud of? Well? I asked you a fucking question!”

“You don’t know anything about it,” Gladion said. 

“I know every goddamn thing about it!” Guzma bellowed. “And I helped you, just like I helped all of you! And in return, I only ask for one thing. You got the nerve to spit on me? You got the _nerve_ to turn around and take a big shit on the people who showed you loyalty when you had nobody else? Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

Guzma’s vitriol went unquestioned. Gladion’s companions shuffled out of the way and fell in with the others, and Gladion couldn’t even look at them. Plumeria looked like she wanted to say more, but the words never came and she averted her gaze. Gladion stood alone with Null, outnumbered and ostracized, and no matter what she thought of him, Selene could not help but feel deeply sad for him in that moment. 

“Hey!” Hau shouted, marching to where Gladion and Guzma faced off. “You can’t just talk to people like that. And you can’t go around threatening them just ‘cause you got a strong Pokémon on your team, you know?”

“Hau!” Lillie said, stricken. 

Guzma stared in confusion. “Who the fuck’s this asshole?” he asked, looking around. “He with you, Tito?”

“Nah, Boss,” said Tito the Skull thug. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Gladion hissed. 

“Helping Lillie. She’s our friend, and right now it looks to me like we’re all on the same side,” Hau said. 

Gladion bared his teeth. “Nobody asked you! I don’t want your blood on my hands, so get the hell outta here while you still can!”

Stufful had recovered and made his way back to Lillie’s side, teeth bared and bleeding. 

“No way, not without Lillie,” Hau said.

“Are you deficient? They’ll _kill you_!” Gladion shouted at him. 

“Huh? I got no beef with this guy,” Guzma said. He sniffled noisily and narrowed his eyes in strange recognition. “Bellator skuff. Ain’t too many of you around here.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not alone,” Hau said. 

Guzma sniffled again, and his gaze panned over Mallow and Selene. When she met his gaze, Selene felt a deep chill, unsettling to the bone, like it was not just a man she was looking at, but something beyond. 

“Sylvan,” Guzma said with a sneer. “Veleno…heh. Plums, you’re up.”

Gladion and Hau and all the others turned back to look at Mallow and Selene, and it was then that Gladion finally noticed Selene. There was an instant spark of recognition in his grey eyes, a mixture of anger and fear like he’d been betrayed all over again. Null, his feathered mane white and clean as it had been before Selene poisoned him, stared at her with mismatched eyes, the crack Dartrix had made in his rusty helmet larger than it had been before. 

Plumeria stepped off the quay, two Pokéballs in hand, her eyes trained on Selene. 

“Gladion,” Guzma said. “I like you, kid. So I’ll give ya one last chance to pull your head outta your ass and make the right decision. I’ll even spare your little friends here. What’s it gonna be?”

Gladion turned on Guzma. “If you think I’m gonna let you lay one goddamn finger on Lillie, you got another thing coming.”

Guzma’s expression blackened, and he jutted his lower lip out like a child pouting after not getting his way. Except this child had an enormous carnivorous Bug at his beck and call, and he was not afraid to use it. 

“Fine,” Guzma said, eerily quiet. “You want me to be the bad guy? I’ll show you big, bad Guzma. Get ready for a beat down you’ll never forget.” He whistled, and Golisopod lunged. 

Lillie shielded Nebby with her body, and Gladion shouted something incoherent. One minute, Golisopod was getting ready to attack, and the next he was blown roughly aside. There was a blinding flash of light, and a hulking Bewear, freshly evolved to protect Lillie, roared and beat his chest with a meaty paw. Golisopod absorbed the punch without issue, but now he had both Null and Bewear to contend with. 

“Stufful,” Lillie said, stunned. “I mean, Bewear…”

Emboldened by Bewear’s courageous intervention on her behalf, Lillie got to her feet to stand with him, no more than a china doll next to her beefy Pokémon but no less ready to stand up to Guzma. 

“I changed my mind,” Lillie said. “I _won’t_ go with you. And I certainly won’t let you bully my friends!”

Guzma rubbed his face with his hands, gently at first, then more insistently. 

“Little shit,” Guzma muttered to himself. “Guzma, what’s _wrong_ with you?”

Selene gasped in horror as he began to smack himself roughly. His cheeks were red, and he’d yanked out some of his hair. When he’d had enough, he turned his anger on the Pokéballs in his pocket and the people gathered around. 

“Well don’t just stand around like a buncha assholes,” he snapped. “Show this traitor what it means to cross Team Skull!”

Hau, Lillie, and Gladion were back to back with their Pokémon. Hau released Passimian and looked markedly less confident than he had a moment ago now that all the people on the beach with their Pokémon were converging. Some were approaching Selene and Mallow, too, and Mallow looked grim as she reached for her own Pokéballs. 

It started unceremoniously and turned dirty fast. Someone sucker punched Gladion and he doubled over, causing Null to roar his rage and lash out with Crush Claw. Bewear went on a rampage, Hammer Arming anyone unfortunate enough to be in his path, while Lillie and Nebby remained close to Hau and Passimian. Guzma released an Ariados and an Araquanid, and the enormous spiders moved quickly around the beach, kicking up sand and spitting webs. One hit Hau in the chest, and he went down. Lillie fell with him and tried desperately to pull the webbing off, but it hardened to steel. 

Something awakened in Selene then. Or perhaps it was that her turbulent emotions from the past two days shrank in the face of renewed violence, this time against people who happened to matter and care about her. She took off running. 

“Decidueye!” she shouted. “Help me!”

Selene released Toxapex and Vileplume and launched herself at Guzma’s Ariados, unafraid of his poison. Vileplume’s vines caught the spider’s front legs, but the bladed edges severed the vines like tissue paper. Ariados reared, and Selene had to duck to avoid nearly being decapitated by his flailing leg. Careless of the consequences, she lunged with all her might at Ariados’s head and sank her nails in for a better hold. Ariados flailed violently in an effort to throw her off, but Selene stubbornly held on and kicked at his abdomen with whatever strength she could muster. She only succeeded in disorienting the spider, and she gasped in pain as he sank his fangs into her arm. Poison sluiced over her, but she was immune. It was only pain, and it wouldn’t beat her today. Someone shouted her name, but she barely heard it. 

Then, out of nowhere, Decidueye descended on Ariados like an angel of death. He sank his talons into the spider’s tough carapace and roughly yanked him about. Chunks of Ariados’s flesh came free and went flying, and Decidueye plunged his beak in next. Ariados shuddered and shrieked and tried to throw Decidueye off, but there was no disengaging those wicked talons. Selene was not so sturdy and was flung off. A bladed foot smashed into the sand mere inches from her temple, and she rolled over and up to get out of the way. Decidueye laid waste to Ariados, eviscerating him from the inside out until the entire back of his abdomen ripped clean off. Spider entrails and blood spilled everywhere, bringing with them the putrid stench of death and poison. Decidueye’s weight brought the spider to the ground, and it was over. 

Selene shared a glance with Decidueye, who was ever soundless and windless, and she went to his side for protection. All around, the battle was raging, and it was not going well. Mallow was fighting with a formidable Tsareena holding her own against a Pangoro’s reckless punches, but Gladion and Null were having trouble facing five Skull thugs and all their Pokémon. Null sliced through a mean-looking Zangoose, but a Gigalith resisted his claws and smashed into Null with the force of a wrecking ball. Null went down hard with a whimper. 

“Null!” Gladion cried out, afraid. He released Sandslash and picked up a metal bat from one of the Skull thugs hurting on the ground. 

Mallow’s Shiinotic was systematically making his way through the ranks of Skull thugs with strangling vines and Spores to restrain and put to sleep those that Tsareena did not Trop Kick and Vine Whip into submission. The bulbous pink mushroom was slow to move, but anything that came too close breathed in his Spores and fell unconscious almost instantaneously.

Hau’s Passimian shrieked and launched an electrified Togedemaru at an enemy Hawlucha as the latter took to the skies. Togedemaru and Hawlucha collided in a burst of sparks and feathers, and Hawlucha squawked as he fell back to the earth. Passimian caught Togedemaru like he was nothing more than a football and beat the ground with his fist, looking for the next target.

“Selene, watch it!” Hau shouted. 

A guy covered in tattoos came at her with a fist aimed at her face, and Decidueye spread his tattered wings in an attempt to intimidate the attacker. Selene lunged out of the way and ate sand, but Toxapex was there to block the guy’s path. He ran right into the Brutal Star Pokémon, tripped over her, and face planted in the sand. Hau fought off two others rushing to his aid, moving as fluidly as any true Bellator as he punched and jabbed and kicked and brought one of them to his knees. Gladion came in flying with the bat he’d picked up and smacked the other one in the back, and he dropped the knife he’d been carrying and went down. Hau and Gladion exchanged a look—surprised and a little fearful for Hau, grim and pissed off for Gladion. There was no time to exchange words as they moved on to the next fight.

“Bewear, look out!” Lillie screamed as she ran after her Pokémon. 

Bewear’s rampage had cost at least six people and a dozen or so Pokémon their lives or near enough, and now Guzma’s Golisopod stood against him once more. When Golisopod slammed into Bewear lightning fast with a full-body First Impression attack, Bewear roared and fell. Lillie screamed as Bewear made futile swipes at Golisopod, and Golisopod ripped into Bewear’s belly with glee. 

She ran to help him, but out of nowhere Null appeared and rammed Golisopod with all his might. They tumbled in the sand together, leaving Bewear bloody and twitching behind them, and wrestled like a couple of hungry dogs over the last bone. 

Gladion saw them struggling, but when he tried to go to Null, Guzma grabbed the bat in his hand, wrenched it free, and punched Gladion hard in the face.

“Boy, you’re _really_ pissin’ me off!” Guzma screamed at him. 

Gladion spat up blood and writhed on the ground, heaving. Guzma grabbed him by the collar like a rag doll and shook him hard. 

“I took you in and gave you everything! That was _me_ , not the job!”

“Job?” Gladion said in a daze. “What…”

Guzma sneered. “Lusamine. Yeah, she’s the reason I went lookin’ for you in the first place. It was all the same to her what happened to you s’long as I kept your ass in gear, but you showed me you had somethin’, somethin’ I had at your age. So I brought you in, taught you to fight. I gave you my trust, and _this_ is the thanks I get?”

Gladion seemed to recover some of his sanity. “Lusamine… This was _her_?!” He struggled in Guzma’s grip, but Guzma threw him down again. 

“She was right about you in the end. Shoulda listened to her. You wanna bite the hand that feeds? Then you better be ready to take a beating!”

Guzma swung the bat, and Gladion rolled out of the way to avoid getting his head bludgeoned. He was not fast enough to escape unscathed and screamed when the metal connected with his arm. 

“Goddamnit, Gladion! Look what you made me do!” 

Selene was the closest to them, and all she could think of was how Guzma was going to kill Gladion at this rate, and whatever he may have done, he didn’t deserve this kind of suffering. She ran, and Decidueye rose with her. 

“Hey, asswipe!” she shouted at Guzma. 

He looked up, his face twisted comically in confusion, and saw her rushing him with her poisoned hand poised to attack. It was enough time for Sandslash to reach Gladion and Slash through the metal bat Guzma was holding. 

But Selene never reached her target when a rancid wall of oily sludge rose up like a geyser in her path. She collided with it and lost her balance. It tingled on her skin and burned holes in her shirt, but left her skin unmarred. And it _reeked._ The sentient blob gathered, a sick soup of sewer runoff and putrified bones and toxic sludge, and rose up before her. The Alolan Muk opened his maw and belched Poison Gas, and Selene glared up at him. 

“Not so fast, hon,” said Plumeria, Muk’s trainer. “You could hurt someone swinging that hand around.”

She cracked her knuckles, and Selene stared at her blighted fingers. Unlike Selene, who kept her nails short for safety, Plumeria let them grow and filed them to wicked points, like talons. 

“Lillie! You let her go!” Hau shouted. 

Plumeria and Selene turned to see Guzma’s Araquanid cornering Lillie. Nebby was stuck in his water bubble head, struggling to escape and fighting not to drown. A couple people in white uniforms were dragging Lillie, one on each arm, back to the boat. 

“Hau!” Lillie shouted. “Help Nebby, please!”

Nebby? Was that what this was about? Selene didn’t dwell on it and used the temporary distraction to throw sand at Plumeria, who recoiled and covered her eyes. 

“Decidueye!” Selene shouted at the circling owl. “Stop that Araquanid!”

Decidueye descended and leaked a familiar malevolent haze. But he never reached his target when a Crobat came in hot with a Cross Poison that caught Decidueye completely off guard and sent them spinning. 

“Your fight’s with me,” Plumeria said, “not Araquanid.”

Besides Crobat, Plumeria had one more Pokéball in hand. There was no way Selene could get out of this fight without going through Plumeria. Her heart sank at the thought, and she looked around for Nebby and Lillie. 

Guzma had scuttled away in the commotion and was headed back up the quay. Lillie was unconscious and draped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and Araquanid crawled up the quay after him, Nebby half drowned in his water bubble head. 

“Lillie! No!” Gladion struggled after them, but three Skull thugs blocked his path. 

Null and Golisopod broke apart at the sound of Gladion’s distress, and Null valiantly tried to follow Lillie onto the boat. But Golisopod Sucker Punched him in the jaw in a last burst of strength, and Null went down. Pieces of his thick helmet broke off, bloody with chunks of feathered skin. He didn’t get up again. 

“Lillie, I’m coming!” Mallow said, running with Tsareena and Shiinotic trailing behind. 

But a Skull thug and her Seviper intercepted. Seviper’s poisoned fangs spooked Tsareena, and it was just enough time for an enemy Torracat to Tackle Mallow to the ground and bite down with Fire Fang. She screamed and writhed, desperate to get him off as he cooked her from the inside out. 

Everywhere Selene looked, this was a losing fight. The boat carrying Lillie and Nebby and Guzma was pulling out, her friends and allies were dropping fast as Team Skull’s considerable numbers overpowered them, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Was this how it ended? After she’d eluded death and made it here in one piece, just a day later she was destined to fall? It was too much. 

“No way,” Selene said through gritted teeth. “No fucking way!”

_I’m not dying here today._

“Toxapex! Help Mallow!” she commanded. 

Toxapex lunged and blew past a hysterical Mankey to hit Torracat with Liquidation, prying her off Mallow and tumbling through the sand to the shallows together. Torracat snarled in pain and flailed in the waters, but Toxapex crawled over her, smothering her, and Torracat’s struggling died down as Toxapex began crunching her bones to devour raw. Mallow was bleeding and smoking from her back, but she was alive and struggling to her knees.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Plumeria said. “It’s time for you to stand down.”

She released her Salazzle, an emaciated lizard sweating poison and breathing noxious black smoke. Vileplume cowered in fear of her, her petals trembling. Muk rose up like a tidal wave, ready to flood the beach in his vile sludge. 

And then, the strangest thing happened. There was a flash of bright light, and suddenly it wasn’t Plumeria’s Pokémon Selene was facing down, but the back of the largest Nidoking she had ever seen. He towered over Salazzle, a mountain of a beast, and when Muk splashed onto him instead of Selene, he barreled right through as if Muk were nothing more than water and punched the earth. A crag opened up in the sand that threatened to swallow Plumeria and Salazzle, but Salazzle was fast and scooped up Plumeria before the Earthquake could take them. Muk was not so lucky and slipped through the crag as he struggled to ooze back out and escape. 

Selene had no idea where this Nidoking had come from or why he was helping her, but stranger shit had happened in the last week, and she was not about to question good luck. 

“Nidoking!” she shouted at the behemoth rodent. “Bury that Muk!”

Nidoking roared and smashed the sand again with this club fists, and Muk began to drown in the unstable sink hole he created. Plumeria watched the destruction and death of her Pokémon, a mixture of horrified and despairing, but there was nothing she could do now. 

More Pokémon began appearing, each more frightening than the last: Scizor and Persian, Arcanine and Houndoom, even a Tyranitar that looked like he had been itching for a good slaughter all day. Toucannon swooped in between the dueling Decidueye and Crobat, breaking them apart and going after Crobat with a powerful Beak Blast. Crobat was far faster than Toucannon and escaped, though. 

Primarina attacked from the water with Hydro Pump, smashing through a couple of the smaller boats and discouraging escape. Lycanroc howled and Lurantis hummed as they tore through the chaos to get to Hau, who was supporting Gladion’s weight. 

“‘Rantis!” Hau said. 

Sure enough, it was Kukui’s Lurantis come to the rescue, along with his other Pokémon. He had two others with him, a man and a woman Selene didn’t recognize but who moved like they had fully expected to engage in bloody guerrilla warfare on the Tidesong resort beach. 

“Tyranitar! Flatten that son of a bitch!” the woman barked. 

Tyranitar let loose with a Dark Pulse attack that brought down the Gigalith currently terrorizing Passimian and Togedemaru. Passimian was bloody and limping and unable to penetrate Gigalith’s rocky hide in his state, but Gigalith roared and lurched as Tyranitar’s Dark Pulse knocked him down and ripped him open from navel to nose. 

Suddenly, the tides had turned and the Team Skull thugs were scrambling. The man Kukui had brought released an Alakazam and a Pikachu, the latter of which sneezed and swayed on her feet like she was dizzy. Alakazam, however, was ready for a fight and brandished his twisted spoons. 

Plumeria shouted, “To the boats! Retreat!”

Her Crobat swooped down, and she recalled Salazzle and mounted him. She cast Selene a last unreadable glance and took to the skies. Others followed her example and began retreating to the boats. Some of them made it, but others ran into Primarina’s Hydro Pump and struggled in the waves to stay afloat. 

The man with the Alakazam raised his hands, and Alakazam mimicked his every move in creepy perfect sync. His green eyes faded to white and he levitated a foot in the air. Pikachu, caught up in whatever telekinetic magic this was, struggled as she levitated off the ground and squeaked in distress. When he brought his hands down, the sand beneath Selene’s feet shifted, everyone around her rose off the ground as if possessed. People shouted and screamed in fear, and Pokémon swiped and scratched and tried in vain to struggle free. 

_Clairvoyant_ , Selene thought, instinct screaming at her to get as far and as fast away from this man as she could. _He’s Clairvoyant!_

“Everybody listen up!” the woman shouted to be heard. “This is the end of the line. I’m supposed to tell you to recall your Pokémon and submit quietly, but feel free to ignore that.” She carried knives and dragged one down the leg of a floating Skull thug, drawing a thin line of blood. “I’d love an excuse to sink my teeth into some of you.”

A number of the thugs Guzma had brought with him were sailing away in a haste, and Plumeria had flown off with Crobat. Of the few who remained on the beach, many began to clamor to be released. Houndoom snarled and snapped at the feet of a man with a Purrugly, and he pissed himself. 

“That won’t be necessary, Ivy,” Kukui said, walking purposefully toward Hau, Mallow, and Gladion where they were huddled around Bewear. “The police will be here any minute to arrest them all. 

A crowd had gathered around the beach to witness the aftermath of the fight, and among them were uniformed police officers and hotel security rushing out with their Pokémon to swarm the attackers and round up any who tried to escape. Soon, the levitating Skull thugs were being plucked from the air like berries from a tree and handcuffed, and their Pokémon were forcibly recalled to their Pokéballs. 

“Prof!” Hau said. “We gotta get them to the hospital!”

“You’re all going to the hospital,” Kukui said in a tone that brooked no argument. “Where’s Lillie?”

“They took her,” Gladion spat. “Her and Nebby.”

“Who?”

“It was Team Skull,” Selene said, approaching with Nidoking towering behind her. “The same people who attacked me yesterday.”

Gladion bared his teeth, bloody from the beating he’d taken from Guzma, and glared at Selene. “No, this wasn’t Team Skull. This was that woman, Lusamine.”

“Lusamine?” Hau said. “Who’s that?”

“The president of Aether Foundation and a grade A psycho,” Gladion said. He closed his eyes and hung his head. Tears fell down his cheeks, angry and hot. “She’s our mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to say today, except that I can't believe it's already December. I feel like I've accomplished very little by way of fic updates this year, ugh. Hope everybody enjoyed the chapter!


	8. National Adopt-A-Veleno Day -or- Madam President

Mallow was in bad shape after Team Skull’s attack. Selene stared sullenly at the cup of tepid sludge passing for coffee in her hand, courtesy of the hospital’s visitor lobby. It was a bland and sad place, musty like a senior living home, peeling wallpaper and fake flowers and old grey carpets that once used to be green or blue. The last she’d heard, Mallow was undergoing some kind of Burn Heal therapy to counteract the burns she’d received from the enemy Torracat. The doctors and nurses were vague about the details of her ongoing recovery, and all she’d been told was to wait until Mallow woke up. Whenever that would be. 

Thankfully (or not), she had company. 

“Here,” said Ivy, winking a sparkling blue eye conspiratorially. “I snagged a few when the fascist nurses weren’t looking.”

Selene accepted the chocolate chip cookie. “The nurses aren’t fascist.”

“They’re controlling assholes. I asked them about Mallow and Gladion, and instead of even giving me a bullshit answer, the big one with the clipboard told me to sit and wait quietly if I didn’t want to be forcibly escorted out of the building.”

Selene shrugged. That did sound like an asshole move. She remained silent and took a bite of the cookie. It was stale and crumbled in her fingers, and she cursed. 

“I never said they were good,” Ivy said, eyeing the pathetic cookie crumbling to nothing in Selene’s fingers. 

Selene tossed the rest in the waste bin by the plastic water dispenser and sat down. Ivy took the seat next to her. Mallow and Gladion were both behind closed doors getting treatment, Hau was off running some errand for Burnet back at the Observatory, and Lillie had been kidnapped by her own mother. There was no one else here to talk to, which normally would not have bothered Selene. Except it did, and she couldn’t seem to shake it. She kept recalling the image of Guzma literally carrying Lillie off to who knew where, for purposes unknown. There had been no stopping him, not with the numbers he had. And despite her issues with Lillie, Selene could not shake the burning anger that flamed just beneath her skin at the thought of it, how she’d done nothing. How there was nothing she _could_ do. The look on Gladion’s face when he admitted that the villain behind it all was his own mother, those tears, that anger and self-loathing—it made her so _angry._

“You know,” Ivy said at length, “hanging out in your own head’s all well and good, but eventually you’ll wanna listen to another voice besides your own.”

Selene frowned, pulled from her thoughts. “What?”

“You’re a dweller. I bet you’re used to dealing with things all on your own most of the time. Hey, I get it. Gary’s the same way. I’m used to it by now.”

_The Clairvoyant,_ Selene recalled his whited eyes with spine-chilling clarity.

Selene’s expression must have given away something of her thoughts, because Ivy looked at her knowingly. 

“I get it,” Ivy said, crossing her arms and legs and lowering her voice, “he’s Clairvoyant, it’s weird. But he’s one of the good ones, trust me. I’ve met the bad ones.”

A nurse, the lobby’s only other occupant, manned the reception desk, but she was absorbed in the contents of her computer screen and paid the two women no mind. Selene leaned in a little closer to Ivy all the same and kept her voice down. 

“But you’re, I mean…” Selene struggled to find the words to ask her question. “What’s it like for you? Being with…someone like him?”

For some reason, Ivy seemed to find this question quite funny and giggled. Yes, giggled like a girl half her age. There was something repulsive about the sound coming from her. Selene recalled all too vividly how she’d handled herself back on the beach, delighting in drawing blood from a floating Team Skull thug and effortlessly commanding that beastly Tyranitar. Everything Selene had ever heard about Reapers painted them as fearsome beings shrouded in superstition and shadows. It was even said that some Reapers were cannibals, abominations who hunted and consumed their kin in order to extend their own lives. Selene might have expected her to smell like death in keeping with the namesake, but Ivy only smelled vaguely of perfume and sunscreen. 

Selene dismissed those thoughts as soon as they popped into her head. They were stupid stereotypes, whispers and superstitions passed down by the ignorant and fearful because they knew no better and refused to learn. Selene didn’t know much about Reapers, admittedly, and she was no more immune to fear of the unknown than the next person. But she knew Ivy was no less human than she was. How could she not be, sitting right next to her?

No, it was not Ivy’s nature, but rather the juxtaposition with her mannerisms that gave Selene the creeps. Selene got the uncomfortable impression she did it on purpose. Ivy seemed like the type to delight in that kind of thing, fucking with people until they tripped up and showed her their true selves. Or maybe just for the hell of it. Maybe just for fun. Some people didn’t need a reason. 

Selene rubbed her blighted hand and the revealing glove she wore, wondering what it would be like to see the world through Ivy’s eyes. She made it seem so easy, and she didn’t seem to care what anyone thought about her.

“Sorry,” Ivy said, “I’m not laughing at you, it’s just the whole idea of it. When Gary and I met, neither of us actually knew what we were. I guess we had a pretty rough start anyway, though. What doesn’t kill you makes you… Actually, I guess I’ve been there, done that, so never mind.” Ivy waved off a question Selene did not have time to think of posing. “What I mean is, nature only gets you as far as you let it. The rest is just Gary and Ivy. He does his thing, I do mine. Maybe we don’t really understand it, not truly, but we know we’re better together.”

“Okay,” Selene said, not sure she followed. 

“Take you and me, for example. Reapers and Velenos are actually the perfect teammates in a fight. I cover your weaknesses, and you cover mine.”

“I guess.”

“Hey, don’t take my word for it. If you’re ever in Fuchsia City, the Velenos there will prove it to you.”

Selene perked up. “Fuchsia City? You’ve been?”

Ivy shrugged. “Sure. I’ve been close with Gym Leader Janine since we helped her stage a coup to overthrow her deadbeat dad.”

Selene gaped. “You were… Wait, you were there when Koga was ousted?”

“Yeah. Gary was the one who ousted him.”

At this, Selene’s face drained of color. She knew that story, how Gym Leader Koga had been a traitor and a murderer working with the crime syndicate Team Rocket on the side for years. He had died in battle fighting his own daughter for control of Fuchsia City, but Selene never knew the details of his death. To think that he had been killed outright by a Clairvoyant, by the very one who was here now, who had singlehandedly brought Team Skull’s violence to a halt on the Tidesong Resort beach… She did not know what to say. 

Ivy’s Persian rubbed up against her hip, purring. Ivy petted him obligingly, and he shoved his enormous face in her lap. Glossy dark eyes stared up at Selene sleepily, as if he knew what she was thinking. 

“Gary was in really bad shape after that,” Ivy said softly. “People like him are like diamonds: they’re hard and reliable, and they can work miracles under pressure. But they’re brittle. When they break, they shatter.”

Ivy was staring at Persian as she petted him absently. Selene tried to imagine a person shattering, mind and spirit, unable even to pick themselves up under the weight of it all. But all she could picture was Gladion fallen to his knees, helpless and hopeless as he admitted the horrible truth about his mother and what she had done to Lillie.

“I wished it had been me instead of him to do it,” Ivy said. “I’ve always been good at breaking things, but never at putting them back together.” 

She was quiet for what seemed like a long time then, and the only sound came from Persian’s purring and the nurse’s faint keyboard strokes. Selene tried to think of something to say, but all she could manage was, “I’m sorry.”

“Gary’s the other way around,” Ivy said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I don’t think there’s anything he couldn’t fix if he set his mind to it. And it was a long time ago now, so you know… Wow, it really has been a long time. I haven’t thought about those days in years. I don’t know where that came from.”

Selene did not really understand, though she did not think she was truly meant to. There was a darkness about Ivy, something old and even ugly, but she held onto it with an ironclad grip to keep it from escaping to touch those around her. She was like stone, immutable and unyielding. Selene thought there was nothing in this world or any other that could ever really shatter Ivy no matter how much suffering or sorrow she endured. But the thought only saddened Selene. 

“You’re a good listener, aren’t you?” Ivy said. “I bet you notice a lot going on that others don’t.”

“Well,” Selene said, sensing a shift in the mood between them, “I have pretty good bullshit meter.”

Ivy laughed. There was no trace of her previous gravitas, or the old memories that seemed to haunt her even now. “Sharpen that skill like a knife, Selene. There’s a lot of bullshit in the world in need of cutting through.”

The door to the surgery opened then, and a frumpy nurse in a faded blue uniform came out with news of Mallow. She was resting now, but the Burn Heal therapy was working and she would be back to herself in a few days. They wanted to keep her overnight until further notice.

“What about the other kid?” Ivy asked. “Gladion.”

The nurse checked her clipboard for the name. “Gladion… Yes, multiple fractures in the right humerus and ulna. We had to sedate him. He was very upset and acting violently. We’ll have to keep him here until he wakes up and we’re sure he isn’t a threat to himself or to others.”

_Of course he was upset,_ Selene thought bitterly, unable to stop herself from glaring at the nurse. _He just watched his sister get kidnapped and had his ass handed to him by the guys who were supposed to be on his side._

Ivy smiled sweetly for the matronly nurse. “I’m so sorry. He can be real trouble, that cousin of mine.”

The nurse nodded stiffly, frowning at Selene’s obvious displeasure. “It took two orderlies and the doctor to restrain him so I could give him the sedative. He nearly broke the doctor’s nose with his flailing.”

Ivy tutted. “I’ve always said callow young boys need a good hand now and then to teach them their proper place, but people today are so squeamish, you know what I mean?”

Selene looked at Ivy nonplussed, but the nurse smiled and puffed up like a proud Swanna. 

“I couldn’t agree more,” the nurse said. “If you ask me, it’s bad parenting every time. Probably the mother. It’s always the mothers, you know. The young ones these days think the world owes them something. In _my_ day, well, things were very different. Respectable.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Ivy said. “My own parents were very traditional with my upbringing.”

_What is this?_ Selene did not even know the woman standing next to her. She surely wasn’t the same Ivy from five minutes ago.

“And you know,” Ivy said, cloyingly sweet, “I was taught that we should always take responsibility for our own. I would hate to ask you to take time out of your busy day to worry about Gladion a minute more. Why don’t you let us take him off your hands? Our house isn’t far, and I’m sure we can get him there before he even wakes up.”

The nurse looked hesitant. “Well, I’m not sure. Hospital policy requires me to keep him here while he’s still sedated…”

“Oh, I would never dream of asking you to break with policy,” Ivy said, as if she were ashamed even to be talking about it. “I only meant it by way of gratitude, to thank you for all you’ve done for him up until now. I promise you he’ll be dealt with accordingly when we get home.”

The nurse hesitated, but Selene could see that she wanted to say yes. Her clipboard was stacked with pages of patient intake forms. 

“Please,” Ivy said, touching the woman’s arm gently, “let me help you.”

That was enough to convince her, and soon enough she was off to fetch Gladion so they could take him out of here.

“What the hell was that?” Selene asked. 

“Nostalgia,” Ivy said wistfully. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here. This place smells like bleach and baby food, and it’s grossing me the fuck out.”

Gladion was released to them, unconscious, and before Selene could ask about how on earth they were going to transport him back to Kukui and Burnet’s house, Ivy called out her Tyranitar to do the honors. Selene had never seen the streets of Heahea City so bare as when she walked beside the behemoth green dinosaur. People didn’t even look at her as they scrambled to get out of Tyranitar’s path like they had Durant in their pants. 

It was late, well past dinner time and very dark. Selene scanned the skies for Decidueye, but he was nowhere to be found. 

“We could have left him there,” Selene said at length. “Gladion’s not exactly a friend.”

“Oh? But I saw you all fighting those Team Skull guys together. Wasn’t it his sister that got kidnapped or something?”

“Lillie,” Selene said. “Yeah, they’re siblings. We only just found out today.” 

Was it only just today? It seemed like ages ago already. She was exhausted. Her clothes had been eaten through by Muk’s sludge, and she now wore starchy hospital-issue pants and a matching T-shirt two sizes too big, both a suspicious gray the result of whites being washed too many times with darks. Only her gloves remained to her. 

“And yet, you volunteered to stay at the hospital instead of Hau,” Ivy said. 

Selene frowned. “Hau can’t sit still for more than five minutes. The fascist nurses would have kicked him out hours ago.”

Ivy laughed. “Good point.”

Tyranitar lumbered along, each step a small earthquake deep beneath the earth’s crust, or so Selene imagined. He was an impressive specimen, at least Selene assumed he was. She’d never seen a Tyranitar in real life before. They weren’t very common in Alola as far as she knew. She wondered what it had taken to train him up to his current strength. Despite her youth, Ivy had to be a fairly competent Reaper to tame the so-called Insolent Pokémon.

They made it out of town and left the lights of the city behind. It wasn’t so dark that they needed a light, but Ivy did not seem bothered by the dimness. Selene thought again about what Ivy had said about Reapers and Velenos being the perfect teammates. Would they get the chance to test that theory out? Selene had no idea what lay ahead, only that they had to get Lillie and Nebby back somehow. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a Reaper on her side. Or even a Clairvoyant as strong as Gary.

As if the universe was spying on her thoughts, Gary suddenly materialized on the path ahead of them with Alakazam. Selene screamed, and her distress made Tyranitar snarl. 

“For fuck’s sake, Gary, you scared her,” Ivy said. “What’re you doing out here?”

“Looking for you, obviously,” he said, approaching. “The hospital staff said you left a little while ago, so I ballparked your location.”

Selene observed Gary from a safe distance a few paces away, and Alakazam observed her. She didn’t know what it was, but she could feel something emanating from them, like a wind that didn’t blow. He had literally floated off the ground during the beach skirmish. Was that normal? Did all Clairvoyants do that? Wait…could he read her mind? Did he know what she was thinking right now? Selene thought about the first thing she could that didn’t have to do with him, and settled on an image of Nebby farting out glitter. She instantly regretted this thought and what Gary must think of her now if he really could read her mind.

“Gary, I don’t think you properly met Selene yet,” Ivy said. “She’s the one who commandeered Nidoking at the beach.”

“I did see that,” Gary said. “I meant for him to contain the threat from that Muk, but I didn’t expect you to actually battle with him.”

Selene was so surprised that she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “It seemed like a waste not to.”

Ivy laughed at this, but Gary merely watched her. 

“It’s fine,” he said. “I’m sure he was happy to be around one of his own kind for a change.”

A Clairvoyant who trained a Nidoking. It seemed a little out of place. If Selene recalled, he also had a Pikachu on his team, and possibly other non-Psychics if the small army he and Ivy had unleashed on the beach was anything to go by. What was wrong with him? Ivy had said he was a Gym Leader, officially recognized as one of the best trainers in Kanto. So why did he train so many Pokémon that didn’t fit with his affinity? 

“Anyway, let’s get going. I’ll take him.” Gary indicated Gladion, and Ivy recalled Tyranitar so that Gary could shoulder his weight. Then, he laid a hand on Alakazam’s shoulder, and Ivy laid a hand on his. They looked at Selene expectantly. 

“You coming?” Ivy asked. 

Selene stared. “Coming… What’re you talking about?”

“Teleportation is perfectly safe,” Gary said calmly. “Just take Ivy’s hand and don’t let go. It’ll be jarring your first time, but it’s over fast.”

_Teleportation?_ Selene thought of Nebby’s Teleport jumps, and suddenly she thought she might be sick. What did he mean by jarring? What if it didn’t work for her for some reason? Oh god, what if he was hearing every single stupid thought going through her head right now?

“Can you read my mind?” Selene blurted out.

Gary looked at her like he hadn’t quite heard her right, but Ivy burst out laughing. She was in stitches clutching her belly, tears in her eyes. 

“Oh my god,” Ivy said as she calmed down. “I love her. Gary, can we keep her?” To Selene she said, “We’re keeping you.”

“Yveltal can take you and that stupid goddamned joke once and for all,” Gary said. 

Ivy was still grinning as she waved Selene over. “Come on, just take my hand, it’s okay.”

Selene had little choice, and so she took Ivy’s hand in her healing hand and braced herself. She was just working herself up in to a good muscle tense when it was suddenly over. Kukui’s wooden porch was under her feet, and the lights of the living room through the bay windows shined bright in the night. There was a blissful moment when she was incredulous at how underwhelming the experience had been. And then, her stomach lurched in protest. It felt like it had been left on the dark road a couple miles back and just now caught up with her. Selene’s knees wobbled, and she fell to the porch and heaved. 

Gary offered her a hand up. “I’m sorry about that. It’ll pass.”

Selene looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears as her throat clenched up and her gag reflex rattled her down to her toes. “I’m _never_ doing that again.” 

He took her by the elbow and helped her to her feet without waiting for permission. Alakazam watched them the whole time, like he expected her to lash out or threaten Gary or something. He was a creepy Pokémon, the creepiest. Selene much preferred Ivy’s Tyranitar. But Alakazam quickly lost interest when something else drew his attention, and he brandished his spoons at the darkness of the Lush Jungle. Gary, too, was suddenly distracted and gazed out toward the inky blackness. Selene turned to look, but it was hard to see anything that far out. 

“That Ghost,” Ivy said, hoisting Gladion on her shoulder. “He’s been following us the whole time. He’s yours, right?”

Selene realized she was talking to her. “Decidueye?”

Soundlessly, a figure appeared in the darkness. Decidueye landed in the grass, his long feathered talons sinking into the earth and his red eyes unblinking. Alakazam bristled, sensing a threat, but Gary stayed him. Selene went to Decidueye and ran her hands through his tattered feathers. He smelled of meat and jungle, not so much repulsive as a little unpleasant. He lowered his head to allow the contact, but his glassy eyes never left Gary and Ivy and Alakazam. 

“It’s okay,” Selene said, because she felt the need to say the words. “We’re safe here.”

Decidueye was ever silent, but he waited until she let her hands fall before he took to the skies once again. Selene soon lost sight of him, but she knew he was out there, watching over her. In light of today’s events, the thought brought her more comfort than she ever imagined it would. 

Kukui opened the door then. “Ho! You’re finally here, good! Come on in, there’s dinner left over for anyone who wants it.”

“Thanks, Professor,” said Ivy. “But first, you got a spare bed I can drop this one in?”

Kukui accepted Gladion’s comatose body from Ivy and hoisted him up bridal style, careful of the cast on his arm. “Sure do, cos. And maybe a Super Potion or two to help his recovery along, oh yeah!”

Hau and Burnet were already inside still finishing up their own late dinner, and Selene was grateful for the food and clean bed that awaited her. Hau was quiet, which honestly bothered Selene more than she was willing to let on, but she couldn’t blame him. No one really had the energy to engage and be merry tonight. Not when Lillie was out there somewhere. 

“Promise me, Selene,” Hau said to her later that night when they were in their beds in the room they shared. “Promise me we’ll save Lillie, whatever it takes.”

Selene’s heart went out to Hau, it really did. She wanted to help Lillie, too. But the path was fraught with peril of the mortal kind, if the battle on the beach was anything to go by. Selene had never been very spiritual or religious, but something in her gut told her they were in for something bloody if they continued down this path. If someone had told her last week that she would be risking her life and her Pokémon’s to help a girl who’d only ever lied to her, she would never have believed it. But then, a lot of unbelievable things had happened to her lately, and she was still here. 

Selene looked out the window at the dark sky and the hundreds of stars. Down this path lay despair, loss, possibly even death. But there were also answers, and a girl's life may well depend on her. The stars twinkled like little smiling eyes, watching her, waiting, hungering. They reminded Selene of the presence at the bottom of the sea that had nearly swallowed her whole.

_Try me, asshole._

She set her jaw and turned over in bed. “I promise, Hau. Whatever it takes.”

* * *

 

The next morning, Selene woke with a blank mind. They were peaceful moments of ignorant bliss over all too soon when she remembered all that had transpired in the last week. Hau was asleep in the other twin bed in the room, breathing deeply, while Togedemaru was curled in a ball at the foot of his bed. Selene watched him a moment, utterly at a loss for what to say or do when she inevitably would have to get out of bed and start the day. 

_Where do we go from here?_

She’d promised Hau they would get Lillie back, but how the hell were they actually supposed to do that? They didn’t even know where she was, and given their last encounter with Team Skull, Selene was not keen on facing them again. But they had to do something. Maybe Kukui was already working on it. Maybe the others had started planning without her and Hau. Selene got up and dressed, and she shook Hau awake. 

“Come on, Hau,” she said. “It’s morning.”

Hau was slow to wake, but once his vision focused, the weight of memory seemed to sober him quickly, and he got up. Together, they went to the kitchen and found Kukui and Burnet awake and busy with breakfast, while Burnet’s pet Rockruff yipped impatiently at the smell of bacon. 

To Selene’s genuine surprise, Gladion was already at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee. He had been talking to Burnet quietly, while Kukui fried up some eggs and covertly snuck Rockruff some bacon strips. When she and Hau entered the kitchen and Burnet greeted them, Gladion’s gaze immediately locked on Selene’s, and they stared at each other. There was a challenge there, and Gladion was tense and taut, but Selene said nothing. His arm was stiff in a cast that hung from a sling around his neck. He wore a black sleeveless shirt that bared an ostentatious black-inked tattoo on his bicep, the stylized graffiti insignia Selene recognized as the Team Skull logo. 

“Selene, Hau,” Burnet greeted warmly. “Good morning. Breakfast should be ready soon. Coffee?”

“Thanks, Prof.” Hau sat down next to Gladion. “Hey, man. You feelin’ better?”

Burnet smiled and got up to fetch a couple more mugs. Selene remained standing, and Gladion kept his eyes on her, letting Hau’s question hang. 

“My arm’s broken in three places, I’m excommunicated from my gang, and I watched my sister get kidnapped by my former boss,” Gladion said, finally averting his gaze and snatching his coffee mug to take a big gulp. “But sure, other than that, I’m feeling fan-fucking-tastic.”

Hau’s face fell. Selene glared at Gladion and pulled the chair out across from him, letting it screech over the hardwood floor. No one said a word as Selene slowly took her seat and folded her bare hands on the table where everyone could see her blighted fingers. Gladion glanced at her hands, but his expression did not change much.

“So, uh,” Hau broke the silence first, “I heard you guys know each other already, sorta…”

“We’ve met,” Gladion said.

“Sure,” Selene said, “if you count killing Dartrix and trying to kill me.”

This time, his reaction was immediate. “Hey, you were attacking my people. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

“Right, because it’s beyond your capacity to question random acts of violence.”

Gladion bared his teeth. “When I showed up, it looked to me like you were doing just fine defending yourself.”

“Are you kidding me? They were your people, like you said! You should’ve known about that bullshit roadblock. What the fuck did you think was happening? Two thugs stuck with boring patrol duty in the middle of nowhere, and a woman traveling alone with no one around for miles to witness anything. Do the math.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you were still attacking us, all of us.”

Selene gaped at him. “Your guys started it! And you just joined in without even trying to understand what was going on.”

“You poisoned Null.” Gladion was leaning across the table, his anger in full bloom. “You could’ve killed him.”

“You actually did kill Dartrix.”

“And you killed those guys,” Gladion shot back. “They were no threat at that point. Tommy’s legs were broken, and Tyson was passed out paralyzed. You killed them.”

Selene tried to hide the shudder of guilt, the ache of despair she had been carrying, agonizing over. She clenched her fists and bared her teeth. “How is that any different from the Team Skull thugs you killed on the beach?”

It was Gladion’s turn to shudder. Shock, shame, guilt, and loss, they were plain to see. He could not have hidden his true feelings from a blind man. Color flushed his gaunt cheeks, and he faltered. “That’s…”

_Different._

“It not,” Selene interrupted, her voice a low feral whisper. “It’s not different at all.”

Hau listened to all this in silent shock, and Burnet watched from the kitchen, abashed. The only sound was the sizzling pop of bacon and eggs in the frying pan Kukui was busy manning. Selene was so mad she could hardly think straight. All those feelings came rushing back as if the attack had just happened, so fresh in her memory. What kind of world was this that the strong and the numerous were entitled to have their way with the weak or lonely? What kind of world made murder a requirement for survival? 

Kukui and Burnet returned to the table with coffee and breakfast. Selene felt his heavy hand on her shoulder, equal parts anchoring and comforting. 

“No,” Kukui said softly, inoffensively, the way one might talk to a cornered animal to soothe it, “it’s not different. It was self-defense, necessary for survival.” He looked around at all three of them. “You were all put in impossible situations, and you reacted the only way anyone can be expected to react, you know. It doesn’t erase what happened or make it okay, yeah, but it doesn’t make you monsters, either.” He squeezed Selene’s shoulder gently, reassuringly. “Any of you.”

“Niko’s right,” Burnet said. “None of you should ever have had to go through what you have. It isn’t fair. But I think right now, what’s most important is finding a way to help Lillie. From where I’m standing, it looks like we all share that common goal. So, perhaps for now, we can all try to get along and work together, all right?”

“Excellent idea, darling,” Kukui said cheerfully. “But first, everybody dig in! Nobody likes cold eggs.”

Gladion and Selene remained silent for the entirety of the meal as they ate, and even Hau was more subdued than usual. He caught Selene’s eye a few times, but she had nothing else to say. 

Burnet had to go to the lab for work after breakfast, and Kukui mentioned something about the Akala Island Kahuna as he packed a lunch box for himself. 

“You think the Kahuna would help us find Lillie?” Hau asked. 

“Sure! Olivia’s always happy to help out a friend in need. And, well, since she’s my cousin and all, I’m sure she’ll make time for us right away.” 

“Great, I’m coming with you,” Gladion said. 

“Ooh, no can do, cos. You have to recover, and Toucannon can only carry one rider at a time.” Kukui looked contrite. 

Gladion just looked more pissed off than usual. “Fine, whatever. Then you go get the Kahuna, and we’ll meet you at Aether Paradise.”

“Aether Paradise?” Hau asked. “You mean, the Aether Foundation’s private island? What’s there?”

“Lillie, obviously. It’s the only place Guzma would’ve taken her if he’s working for Lusamine.”

Kukui looked skeptical, and a little heavy-hearted. “Listen, Gladion. I understand how you feel about all this, and I know your heart’s in the right place. But if we rush into things, we could only make it worse for Lillie.”

“But Prof, Guzma took Lillie and Nebby,” Hau said. “You saw how they just cut down anybody who stood up to ‘em. We gotta hurry and help Lillie!”

Kukui sighed, and it had an aging effect on him. It didn’t suit him at all, this weariness. “I know we have to help Lillie, yeah, and you gotta trust me that I’m doin’ everything I can. But Aether’s a respected company, and Lusamine is its president. Hurling unfounded accusations around can get you in hot water real quick, you know? And I don’t mean the relaxing jacuzzi kind.”

Selene watched their argument but did not contribute. Kukui had made up his mind. 

“Look, I’ll be back faster than you can say Extreme Speed. So until then, just sit tight, kiddos. We’ll get Lillie back, and we’ll do it the right way. I promise, all right?”

Kukui smiled warmly and laid a hand on each of Hau’s and Gladion’s shoulders, a gesture meant to convey comfort and reassurance. Gladion roughly shrugged him off and marched outside to the porch to be alone. Kukui watched him go, but said nothing. He took off with Toucannon after that, leaving the three of them at the house alone. 

“Man, we gotta _do_ somethin’!” Hau said to no one in particular. “Lillie’s waiting for us! I know she’ll wanna know Bewear’s okay, too.” Hau produced Bewear’s Pokéball and stared at it forlornly. Bewear had been entrusted to his care until Lillie was found. The bear had survived his grievous wounds, his thick fur as hardy as armor and resisting the worst Golisopod’s ravaging. “Bewear did everything he could to protect her. He even evolved just to fight off Golisopod. I know he’d wanna go and find her if he could.”

Selene let him rant and vent, knowing it would get him nowhere. After all, they had been forbidden from leaving. And even if they did leave, where the hell would they go? They had no way of getting off Akala Island to reach Aether Paradise. And even if they did somehow manage to get there, Kukui was right: charging in without a plan and proper backup was the pinnacle of stupidity. Aether was a powerful organization, and its president was a wealthy and respected businessperson not just in Alola, but all over the world. Who the hell would believe three punks over her? No one, that was who. It was logical to wait, safe to plan ahead, and yet, Selene could not help but feel itchy with angst and frustration over it all. It didn’t _feel_ right.

Hau took to the fridge with Togedemaru to take his mind from his his anger and frustration. There was nothing like a good pre-lunch feast to mollify him. Selene left him to it and settled on the couch, where she soon dozed in a nap. 

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she woke to the sound of someone coming down the stairs. She stirred and saw Gladion, a pack over one shoulder and dressed in street clothes. He regarded her for a moment, then headed for the door. Selene got up. 

“Going somewhere?” she said. 

“What do you care?” 

She moved to block his path. “Are you planning on running off?”

“None of your goddamned business.”

His dress and cargo betrayed him, though. “Did you even hear what Professor Kukui said?”

“I heard him. And whatever plan he comes up with will take way too long.”

“At least he’ll have a plan. And the muscle to back it up.”

Gladion looked at her like what he was about to say would be too much for her feeble mind to comprehend. Selene bristled. 

“Look, I don’t expect you to understand. You don’t know Lusamine, but I do, and I’m telling you in no uncertain terms that Lillie _cannot_ be left alone with her after this.”

Selene was taken aback at the quiet conviction behind his words. He had lowered his voice, as if he were imparting a dangerous secret. “She was alone with her for three years after you left, from what I gathered.”

Gladion’s eyes flashed with emotion, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “You want the last word? It’s yours, whatever. I have better things to do.”

He tried to get around her, but Selene blocked his path. When he glared at her this time, it was not just anger she saw in those troubled grey eyes, but something else. Something she’d seen before on the beach, a look she could not seem to forget on him. 

“You’re ashamed,” she said. It was not an accusation, but merely a statement of fact. 

Gladion bared his teeth in a sneer. “Fuck you. Get outta my way, or I’ll make you.”

Selene showed him her poisoned hand. “That’s not a good idea.”

He grabbed her blighted wrist in a grip that was surprisingly strong for one so lean and gaunt. “You don’t scare me, Selene.”

Her name was angular and sharp on his tongue, a curse more than a name. No one had ever dared to grab her blighted hand the way he did, recklessly, stupidly. But Gladion did not strike her as stupid. Selene did not struggle in his hold. 

“Maybe not,” she said, “but I think Lusamine does.”

Gladion faltered—he was so careless with his emotions that he need not say a word for her to understand the thoughts and feelings coursing through his head. His grip slackened, and Selene carefully retracted her wrist. 

“She scares you, and that’s why you’re ashamed,” Selene said.

Gladion said nothing. 

“But this isn’t about you; it’s about Lillie. I can see that even if I try to stop you, you’ll just find a way to go after her, anyway.”

“So do yourself a favor and _move_ ,” Gladion said. “You already made it pretty clear you don’t want anything to do with me, and believe me, the feeling’s mutual.”

“No. If I let you leave, that’s your blood on my hands. No way.”

“That didn’t stop you the last time.”

It was Selene’s turn to implode with anger and shame. Gladion noticed and took the opportunity to sidestep her. He headed outside to the porch, and Selene followed. 

“What’s your plan?” Selene said. “Let’s say you make it to Aether Paradise and find Lillie. How’re you gonna get her out of there?”

“I have a strong team of Pokémon, in case you forgot.”

“Guzma will be there, and the rest of Team Skull. Your arm’s broken. Do you really think you stand a chance by yourself?”

Gladion stopped and whirled on the porch steps. “At least I’d be doing something!”

“So do something with my help! If you swoop in there alone, you won’t be leaving Lillie for just three years, but forever. It’s not like I know Lillie super well, but I really doubt she’d be thrilled if you got yourself killed on a suicide mission to save her.”

Gladion took a moment to consider her words. “Why would you even wanna help me?”

“I told you: this isn’t about _you_. It’s about Lillie. Ever since she washed up on my island, my life’s been one Trubbish fire after another. There’s no way I’m letting her off without an explanation.” Selene shrugged, uncomfortable. “And…I keep my promises.”

Gladion’s jaw moved as he grinned his teeth, conflicted. “So do I.”

“So do you what?” Hau joined them on the porch, drawn by their raised voices. Togedemaru waddled out behind him and yawned so big, every steely bristle on his body stood on end. 

Gladion frowned sourly and looked away, as if he couldn’t stand to look Selene and Hau in the eye any longer. “Five minutes, and I’m gone. Pack whatever you need for a rescue mission.”

Hau lit up as though raised from the dead. “We’re goin’ after Lillie?! For real, Selene?”

“For real.” 

“Aw _yeah_! Oh man, this is the best! Wait’ll I tell Bewear!” Hau ran back inside. “I better pack some extra malasadas for Lillie. She’ll be hungry when we get her back, oh yeah!”

Selene did not share Hau’s enthusiasm. She only hoped that helping Gladion was the better choice than sending him to his premature death alone. 

_I just hope I haven’t doomed us all._

* * *

 

Gary woke early, but Ivy was already up and brushing Persian. She hadn’t moved from her spot facing their in-suite garden since last night. Gary was accustomed to her chronic insomnia after all these years, but he would never quite understand how she could function like that. In the predawn dimness, she cut a shadow that blended into the darker corners of their room, receding into them. 

He dressed for the day, and she rose to greet him when he was ready. Yesterday, they had gone to Burnet’s lab in the hopes of getting answers about the strange Pokédex entries Samson had uploaded to their devices, but that had been thwarted by the commotion at the Tidesong Resort beach. Today, Gary intended to get some answers. 

When they arrived at the Observatory, Burnet welcomed them with a smile. “Niko told me how much you helped out with the incident at the Tidesong Resort yesterday. Thank you so much. I hate to think what would have happened to Selene and the others if you hadn’t been there.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly how I expected to spend this vacation, but I’m glad we could help,” Gary said. 

“Speaking of Selene,” Ivy said, “where is she? I thought for sure she and the other two would be chomping at the bit to go after their friend.”

“Oh, they are. Gladion’s awake and recovering, but let’s just say tensions are running a little high back home. Gladion says his mother, Lusamine, is behind Lillie’s kidnapping, and that she’s taken her to Aether Paradise.”

“The President of the Aether Foundation? That’s some accusation,” Gary said. 

“Yes, which is why Niko’s gone to consult with Olivia, this island’s Kahuna. She can call the InterPol to investigate.”

Ivy crossed her arms. “Huh. Big corporation, shady president, unlimited resources… This smells like what happened with Team Rocket, if you ask me.”

Gary shook his head. “No way, Aether’s a legitimate business. It’s been around for generations as the major Pokémon research foundation. Gramps got his initial funding for the Pokédex project from Aether. President Lusamine has a sterling reputation.”

Ivy frowned. “Uh-huh, just like Lance the Dragonmaster had a sterling reputation. Until he didn’t.”

“That was a completely different situation. In any case, whatever’s going on here is the InterPol’s problem.”

“Yeah, sure, ‘cause they were super helpful when Team Rocket tried to take over Kanto and Johto. Oh, wait, that’s right—nobody believed us until _we_ did something about it ourselves.”

Gary was not interested in entertaining Ivy’s conspiracy theories today. “We were in way over our heads, and you know it. What we did had as much to do with luck as it did with timing. Besides, Professor Burnet’s right about this: challenging a company as respected as the Aether Foundation isn’t the best idea without any incontrovertible proof.”

Gary waited for Burnet to back him up and put an end to the conversation once and for all, but she remained silent. She seemed to be deep in thought about something, troubled. 

Ivy noticed, too. “Professor, something you’d like to share with the class?” 

Burnet looked between them as if she just remembered that they were there. “No, it’s nothing. Anyway, you said you wanted to speak to me about something?”

Gary got the strangest sensation that there was something she wasn’t saying, but he could not imagine what or why. “Yeah, it’s about the Pokédex. Uncle Samson updated ours with some information about native Alolan Pokémon, but there was something else that got copied over.”

Ivy was a step ahead of him and showed Burnet a grainy picture of one of the strange nameless Pokémon. “What is this thing, and why does it look like my worst nightmare?”

Burnet accepted Ivy’s Pokédex to better see the image. She did a good job of keeping her cool, but Gary caught the tightness around her lips. “That’s impossible. You shouldn’t have access to this image…” She glanced at the supercomputer hooked up to the ring machine.

Ivy followed her gaze. “I knew it. That weird metal ring thing has something to do with this, doesn’t it? It’s not just some abandoned scrap metal project. What exactly is going on here?”

Burnet shook her head. “I’m sorry, I realize you have questions, but I’m not at liberty to just break confidentiality.” She pocketed Ivy’s Pokédex and held her hand out to Gary. “I’ll need yours, too.”

Gary put his hand in his pocket around the Pokédex. “I can’t do that, Professor.”

“Gary, please. I understand that you mean well, and I appreciate all the help yesterday, but this is a separate issue. It’s not safe.”

“Not safe?” Ivy said. “That Pokémon—that _thing_ was a monster. They all are. I’d say I’ve never seen anything like them before, but I have. Team Rocket used to genetically re-engineer Pokémon to turn them into disgusting killing machines.”

Burnet frosted over. “I assure you, it’s nothing like that.”

“Ivy,” Gary said, laying a hand on her arm. “Cool it. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.” He turned to Burnet. “Isn’t there?”

The challenge was not lost on her, but Burnet was not about to be cowed by them. She straightened her posture and smoothed out her lab coat. “This is my laboratory, my research, my business. I understand that you mean well, I really do, but I’ll have to ask you to leave now.”

_What the hell is going on?_ Any other day, Gary would have been fine to leave well enough alone, having grown up around a lab and kept out of the loop of many sensitive projects strictly on a need-to-know basis. But something about this smelled fishy. He remembered Chimera, the horrific experiments Team Rocket performed on Pokémon years ago, and the suffering it had caused. If there was one thing he had learned from that experience, it was that a cover up only ever existed when there was something damning enough to hide. 

“Professor Burnet, please,” he tried, keeping his tone even and non-threatening. “We just wanted to know about the pictures. There’s no need for this.”

Burnet looked like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it. “I’m very sorry about this.” Then, she pressed a call button on a desk X-Transceiver. “Security, please report to the Observatory immediately.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Ivy said. 

Gary reached for Burnet’s arm to implore her. “Don’t do this. We can help you.”

She frowned and pulled away from him. Two men in uniforms carrying beater sticks were headed for them from the elevator bank, a Rockruff and a Crabrawler at their heels. 

“The best way for you to help is to help yourselves,” Burnet said. “Enjoy the rest of your vacation and forget about this.”

“Well, well, if it ain’t you two again.” The guards were the same ones who had harassed Ivy about taking pictures on their first visit here. 

“Okay, we’re leaving,” Gary said, hands up. “No need to make a scene.”

But they were already making a bit of a scene. Other lab workers and staff had stopped to watch the brief altercation. One of the guards tried to take Ivy by the elbow, but she grabbed his wrist and twisted. 

“I don’t like to be touched,” she said. 

Rockruff growled at her, and she growled right back at the little mutt. The guard she had in her clutches gasped in pain.

“The Pokédex, please.” Burnet held out her hand expectantly to Gary. “You’ll get them both back once I’ve removed the confidential files, I promise.”

Gary sighed and, seeing no choice unless he wanted to be turned over to the police, handed over his blue Pokédex.

“Thank you.”

“Come on, Ivy, we better leave.” Gary put a hand on the small of her back. 

Ivy did not look pleased, but she released the guard, and he clutched his hand to his chest.  The other guard ushered them along, grumbling curses, and Burnet watched them go. When they were back outside on Pelipper Avenue, Ivy turned on Gary. 

“Tell me you didn’t buy her bullshit.”

“I don’t think it was bullshit,” Gary said. “I think she was afraid.”

“I’ll give her something to be afraid of. She took our Pokédexes! I didn’t even have time to steal mine back.”

Gary fished around the back pocket of his boarder shorts and produced Ivy’s green Pokédex, no bigger than his palm. Ivy immediately lit up as if he had offered her the biggest diamond engagement ring money could buy. 

“I lifted it when I grabbed her arm,” Gary confessed. “Figured she wouldn’t notice since I gave her mine willingly.”

Ivy made that girlish squealing sound she sometimes made when she wanted to make him cringe or to express her unparalleled delight—often simultaneous occurrences. “Baby, you’re the best!” She took the Pokédex and kissed him full on the lips. “You’ve been practicing, haven’t you?”

“It’s not what you think; it’s just research. Knowing how it’s done will help me guard against it in the future, that’s all.”

“Of course, _research_. We’ll make a grifter out of you yet, Gary Oak.”

“I don’t know about a grifter, but I do want those answers. Something about this doesn’t feel right.”

“Now you’re talking! So, let’s go get them.”

“I think that ship’s sailed.”

Ivy smirked, and it was both terrifying and promising. “You know, I have the sudden urge to watch some mahjong. We did promise Uncle Samson we’d do something social together.”

Gary felt a bit silly. He’d completely forgotten about Samson. Perhaps he might know something about these pictures, or at least why Burnet guarded their secret so fiercely. “Ivy, you’re absolutely right.”

“Duh.”

He released Alakazam, and Pikachu popped out of her Pokéball alongside him. She had been doing that lately, and Gary wondered if there was something wrong with the Pokéball’s wiring to cause it to malfunction. He made a note to get a replacement. 

Pikachu sneezed and waddled to Gary’s feet, where she seemed ready to curl up for a nap. Exasperated, Gary scooped her up so she could ride in his arms, and she snuggled against his chest. He could already feel her static itchy on his skin. 

“Next stop, Malie City,” Gary said. 

He joined hands with Ivy and Alakazam, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

* * *

 

Lusamine tapped her foot, arms crossed, as she watched an Aether tech employee slowly weld a section of the metal ring she had been building and testing and rebuilding. It was complete, having passed all test simulations and operating according to plan. It was curious how something so simple, so innocuous could be the gateway to so much power. But Lusamine did not care how or what it was, so long as it worked. Aether’s best astrophysicists had assured her it was operating at maximum efficiency and capacity. Mohn had been her best once upon a time, but he was lost now. What did these fools know, if even he hadn’t been able to get it right? 

Still, Lusamine would have something Mohn had not worked into his original specs, something that would complete the gate. Every door needed a key, and hers had finally arrived. 

“Madam President,” said an Aether security guard, “we’re ready for you.”

“Bring her to me,” Lusamine said. 

The guard pressed a button on his radio transmitter. The sliding doors to the underground lab opened, and a small entourage of Aether employees entered. Guzma and his lackey, the tie-dyed Veleno woman whose name Lusamine could not be bothered to remember, filed in with them, blotchy black and grey against the pristine flood of white. Guzma was leading Lillie forcibly by the elbow along with him. 

“Finally,” Lusamine said as the group approached. 

But it was a pair of Aether employees carrying a glass and metal container glowing with electrical power that had Lusamine’s full attention. 

“The creature has been secured,” said one of the employees. “It regained consciousness not long after arriving, but the forcefield has prevented it from Teleporting out.”

Lusamine looked down on the gaseous creature trapped behind the glass. Misty yellow eyes flickered up at her, and the creature vibrated, trying to Teleport upon seeing her and unable to escape. 

She smiled. “Cosmog. Welcome home.”

“Lu, uh, Madam Prez,” said Guzma. “Look who I found.”

Lusamine resisted the urge to roll her eyes. There was something to be said about appearances—they meant everything. She looked at Guzma and rewarded him with a smile. After all, his efforts had resulted in Cosmog’s return to her custody. He had done well. 

“Let go of me!” Lillie shouted as she struggled in Guzma’s large hands. 

“Arright, arright, calm down, kid, yeesh…”

Guzma let her wrench free, and Lillie nearly lost her footing. When she looked up, she met Lusamine’s wintry gaze, but did not shudder at the sight. There were tears in her eyes, but they were fierce and angry, not frightened and sad.

“Mother,” she said. 

Lusamine tensed at that accursed word. Coming from Lillie now, it was indeed a curse. _Ungrateful brat._ But there would be time to deal with her later. Without taking her eyes from Lillie, Lusamine addressed her staff. 

“Sedate Cosmog. I don’t want it causing any trouble until the Ultra Mirror is up and running.”

Lillie’s anger fled at those words, and she was once again the lost little girl she would always be at her core. It was strange, truly. Looking at Lillie, especially now that she was maturing into a woman in her own right, was like looking in the mirror. She had all of Lusamine’s beauty and poise, but not the first inkling of how to use it. Shy and diffident, Lillie had always kept her head down, hiding behind the brother who had all the fire she lacked. Without Gladion, Lillie did not even have a place to retreat to. Lusamine had thought it would force a change in her only daughter, a lesson in how to fend for herself, but it was not meant to be. Lusamine tried to remember when Lillie had become a lost cause, but could not recall the precise moment. 

“You can’t,” Lillie said, her voice shrill and tinny. “Please, Mother, don’t do this! I’m begging you!”

“Beg?” It was Lusamine’s turn to grow angry. “No daughter of mine would ever _beg_.” To the Aether security guards she said, “Show Lillie to her room, and make sure she doesn’t leave. I have work to do.”

“No, please!” Lillie tried to avoid the grabby hands that came after her, but to little avail. She was easily subdued. “Nebby!” 

Cosmog roiled in her container in response to that puerile nickname Lillie had made up as a child. But Cosmog, like Lillie, was going nowhere. Nothing and no one would interfere with what came next, Lusamine promised herself. She had worked too long and too hard to let them. In the end, after she succeeded, the only thing Lillie would be begging for would be her gracious mother’s forgiveness for having ever jeopardized this important mission.

“No, let me _go_!” But Lillie’s protests fell upon deaf ears as she was all but dragged from the lab, and Cosmog was taken deeper into the Ultra Mirror’s chamber to wait. 

“Guzma,” Lusamine said. “You did well.”

Guzma grinned, flashing a golden tooth. “Of course I did.”

“I’ll have my accountant wire your payment first thing in the morning.”

Guzma twisted his head and cracked his neck. He approached, and Lusamine noticed he had a bit of blood spatter on his neck where he’d failed to wash it off earlier. He smelled of cigarettes and sweat and something else, something faintly foul just beneath the surface. “Listen, Lu. Whatever you need, you know I’m your man. Just say the word.”

Guzma’s Veleno lackey was watching them, her narrow eyes even narrower, and her exposed blighted hand resting casually on her bared hip, engorged with purple venom. Lusamine vaguely wondered if Guzma was fucking her. It would be a pathetic step down for him, but not out of character, she supposed. Trash always attracted more trash. 

“I know you are,” Lusamine said. 

“What are you going to do with that Pokémon?” the Veleno woman asked. “Cosmog.”

Lusamine turned on the woman, but she did not so much as blink at Lusamine’s heavy stare. Lusamine instantly detested her. “That’s above your pay grade, Grunt.”

This got a reaction out of her, albeit slight. She pressed her thin lips together and set her jaw.

“Hey, Plums, go check on the guys. Make sure they don’t break shit in those fancy rooms they’re crashin’ in tonight,” Guzma said. 

Plumeria nodded and went to carry out his orders like a good little lackey. Lusamine relaxed marginally. If Guzma could control his people, then there was no need to worry about them. Even so, she would sleep better once Team Skull was out of Aether Paradise, the sooner the better. 

“So,” Guzma said, stepping closer now that they did not have an audience anymore, “cash is king, but I’ll take the queen as my reward any day.”

He had the gall to slip his arm around her waist, and Lusamine snatched it away. It took tremendous effort not to tell him off right there, where others in the lab could hear, and draw more attention to them. It would not do. Instead, she released him and turned away. 

“Not here. And I told you, I have work to do.”

If Guzma was offended by her chilly dismissal, he recovered quickly. “Sorry, I just gotta hard time keepin’ a cool head around you, you know.”

Lusamine knew it all too well. Still, Guzma’s little crush had proven useful enough to overlook the annoyance. He had delivered as promised, after all. “It’s fine.” 

“So, what’s next?”

Lusamine and Guzma stood before the Ultra Mirror, sparks flying as the welder continued his work on the device. Others, physicists and engineers and chemists, huddled together over their computers and notes, speaking in hushed tones as they went over their final preparations. It was nearly time, and she was so close. _He_ was so close. And this, all this, would be over soon.

Lusamine parted her red-painted lips in a smile. “The hunt.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic broke 100 kudos shortly after the previous update, and I am completely floored by that! This is the first Pokémon fic I’ve written to pass that mark, and I feel deeply grateful and humbled by your support. Thank you everyone so much!


	9. Home Is Where the Heart Was -or- Actually, That Was Colress’s Idea

Lillie’s room was just as she’d left it. The heavy white duvet had been smoothed and washed, the pillows back in their place at the head of the bed instead of hastily stuffed under the covers to give the impression of a sleeping body. Pictures from her childhood adorned the vanity over her dresser, smiling faces from a lifetime ago. A faded wooden plaque hung on her door that read “Home is where the heart is.” From her window she could see the lights of Konikoni city even on this bright morning. Since Guzma had dragged her back here last night, she had not set foot outside her room. The door had been bolted from the outside, and she did not have Bewear here to break it down. She was alone, weak, and afraid. But it was not for herself that she feared.

_Nebby…_

Guzma’s Araquanid had almost drowned Nebby before he handed her off to some Aether security employees, and that was the last Lillie had seen of the little creature. She hadn’t slept at all, having spent hours pounding on her door, shouting for someone, anyone, to let her out, she had to help Nebby. She had to stop the very thing she had fled here to prevent.

The lock on her door clicked, and Lillie whirled. Someone was coming in. Maybe this was her chance! If she could bolt past whoever it was before they knew what was happening, maybe she could make a break for the basement labs. Surely, that was where Nebby was being held. Lillie braced herself. 

But when the door opened, the sight of the figure standing there drained all her willpower. 

“M-Mother,” Lillie gasped. 

Lusamine, food tray in hand, entered the room. Her designer heels clacked on the hardwood floor, making Lillie wince. Lusamine cast Lillie a cursory glance, her disappointment plain to see. Lillie stood up straight and clasped her hands in front of her on instinct—she was still in her clothes from yesterday, rumpled and smudged from the skirmish on the beach. Unbidden, Lillie flushed with shame. She knew Lusamine expected her to maintain her appearance at all times. Lillie was a woman and her daughter, after all—she had a reputation to maintain. 

“Breakfast,” Lusamine said, setting the metal tray down on Lillie’s dresser. “Someone will be by to collect the dirty dishes later.”

Lillie hated how her hands shook at the look of displeasure in her mother’s eyes. It felt like so long since she’d been in Lusamine’s presence, and she had forgotten how naked it felt being the subject of her scrutiny. Lillie had survived a shipwreck, the Lush Jungle, and Team Skull, but all of that seemed a lifetime ago, someone else’s life. Here Lillie was just the same little girl who couldn’t even dress herself appropriately. 

“Clean yourself up,” Lusamine said. “You look ravaged.”

_Yes, Mother,_ Lillie almost said. But she remembered Nebby and caught herself. 

“Where’s Nebby?” Lillie demanded with whatever courage she could muster. “What have you done with her?”

Lusamine’s luminous green eyes flashed, and it was all Lillie could do not to avert her gaze. She knew that look, the simmering annoyance that could suddenly grow into incandescent rage if she wasn’t careful. 

“Cosmog is none of your concern.”

“She is,” Lillie insisted. “If you hurt her, I’ll… I’ll—”

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Lusamine interrupted.

“Enough… What do you mean, what I’ve done?”

“You endangered Cosmog.”

“Endangered? I would never—”

“How many people have seen Cosmog since you left? What did you tell them when they told you they’d never seen such a creature before?”

Lillie flushed. “I didn’t tell anyone about Nebby.”

“You didn’t have to. Toting it around like one of your stuffed animals was more than enough. What did you think would happen? That people would believe whatever lie you told them? That they wouldn’t question what such a creature could be doing in our world?”

“I-I never lied to anyone,” Lillie stammered. 

“No, you never could tell a convincing lie. What do you think would happen if anyone were to find out what Cosmog really is? Where it came from?”

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean…”

_“You don’t mean a lot of things, do you?”_ She recalled Selene’s harsh words back in the Lush Jungle and lost her nerve. 

“Of course you didn’t mean it. As usual, you didn’t think through your decisions at all. You have no idea how lucky you are that nothing happened to Cosmog while you were on your little vacation. Do you have any idea what you could have cost us?”

Lillie felt her eyes burn with tears as she stared her mother down. “Us? Don’t you mean you, Mother?”

Lusamine narrowed her eyes. “Tread carefully, Lillie.”

“No, I won’t. This isn’t about us, it’s about _you_. I never wanted any of this. Nebby isn’t some _thing_ you can just experiment on, like her feelings don’t matter. It’s cruel!”

“Cruel?” Lusamine advanced on her, and before Lillie could do anything about it Lusamine had grasped her by the jaw, her nails digging into her cheeks. “So I’m cruel now, is that it?”

“Mother, please—” Lillie grasped her wrist in an attempt to get free. 

“ _Mother, please_ ,” Lusamine mocked her. “You have no right to call me Mother after your attempt to sabotage everything I’ve worked for!”

“Hurting Nebby won’t bring Father back!”

Lusamine shoved Lillie roughly, and she staggered against the foot of her bed, rubbing her abused cheek. Lusamine was looking at Lillie as though she did not recognize her. There was something haunting about that look, something that chilled Lillie to the bone. For a moment, Lillie did not recognize her either. 

“Your little rebellion ends here,” Lusamine said in a detached tone that didn’t sound like her at all. “I hope it was worth it, because you’re not leaving this room until I’ve finished my work.”

She turned to leave, and Lillie tried to follow, but Lusamine was out the door before Lillie could make it two steps, leaving her alone once again. All the anger and courage that had abandoned her when she’d needed it most finally returned, and Lillie banged on the door. 

“Come back! Mother, you can’t do this! You can’t keep me in here! Mother, please!”

But no one came. Lillie’s fists ached and throbbed, and soon she sank down onto her knees in tears, unable to hold back any longer. Useless and alone, all Lillie could do was sit sobbing and wondering where everything had gone so terribly, terribly wrong.

* * *

 

The Pri Marina was bustling with ships of all shapes and sizes coming and going. Gladion had said something about a speedboat he’d used to travel here from Ula'Ula Island, but Selene grew suspicious when he began scoping out the various boats moored in the shallows. 

“So, which one’s your boat?” Hau asked.

“None of these,” Gladion said. “It’s docked at Royal Avenue.”

“Huh? But then, what’re we doin’ here?”

“Finding a new boat.”

“A new boat?”

Selene sighed. “He means he plans to steal one. Which we’re absolutely _not_ doing.”

Gladion rolled his eyes. “You’re the ones who wanted to tag along, so quit complaining.”

“Whoa, dude, hold up. That sounds like a bad plan,” Hau said.

Selene snorted. “It sounds like no plan at all.”

“Oh yeah? You got a better idea?” Gladion glared at them. 

“You didn’t like my idea, remember? Said we couldn’t afford to wait any longer,” Selene said.

“This was obviously a mistake. I knew I should’ve just left without you.”

“And go where? _You have no boat_.”

“I’ll _figure something out_!”

Hau was caught in between the two of them as they shouted at each other, and he covered his ears. “Guys, guys! C’mon, quit yellin’ at each other. We’re s’posed to be on a noble quest together, so, like, just chill!”

“Shut up, Hau!” Selene and Gladion said at the same time. 

“Hey, don’t tell him to shut up,” Selene said. 

Gladion scowled. “You know what? Fuck this. Either you can stay here and complain by yourselves, or you can make yourselves useful and find us a way to Aether Paradise.”

“I mean, Selene has a point,” Hau said. “Seems like you don’t actually have a plan…”

Gladion looked ready to get violent, but he saw something over Selene’s shoulder that took the wind from his sails. “The hell?”

A group of four was approaching them on the docks accompanied by a slippery Salandit. The biggest of their group had such terrifying skull tattoos all over his face and head that she couldn’t help but stare. 

“‘Ey, Gladion,” said the dwarf of the group. “Thought I heard your prissy voice over here.” His Salandit tasted the air with his forked tongue and blinked his double eyelids one after the other. 

“Blue Barney,” Gladion spat.

Hau looked the newcomers up and down. “Hey, wait a minute, I remember you guys. You’re with Team Skull!”

Selene also grew wary and, as if sensing her distress, Decidueye swooped down from the skies to land on the docks beside her. The woman with magenta hair—Lei Fan, if Selene recalled—drew a knife. 

“You again,” she said, her teeth bared. “Gladion, what are you doing with her? She killed Tommy and Tyson.”

A doughy redheaded woman Selene did not know gasped. “What happened?”

“That’s my line,” said Gladion. “You got some fucking nerve showing your faces after what went down at the beach.”

“Yo, chill bro,” Blue Barney said. “Don’t wantcha to break a nail gettin’ all bent outta shape about shit that happened in the past.”

“It happened _yesterday_! And Guzma broke a lot more than a nail when he got ahold of me.” Gladion showed them his right arm, wrapped up in a cast and sling.

People in nearby boats paused their work loading and unloading cargo to stare at their raised voices. 

“Don’t cause a scene,” Lei Fan warned. “We can discuss this on the boat.”

“Gladion’s not going anywhere with you,” Selene said. Decidueye opened his beak and let out a ghastly hissing sound that made even the big guy hesitate. 

“Damn right I’m not,” Gladion said. 

“Arright, everybody just calm the fuck down!” Blue Barney said. “Listen, kid. Yesterday was bad, sure.”

“Bad? What was _bad_ was how you just shrank when Guzma showed up, and now you think I’ll magically forget about it all?” Gladion drew Null’s Ultra Ball with his good left hand. “You’re goddamned delusional.”

Salandit sensed the threat to his trainer and hissed.

“Hey! We came here to help you, and this is the thanks we get?” said the redhead.

“You did?” Hau said. “Why?”

“‘Cause Gladion’s family,” said the big man in a voice so deep Selene felt it in her toes. “Bruddahs stick together.”

“ _Family_?” Gladion just stared at them incredulously.

Lei Fan lowered her knife. “Listen, Gladion—”

“No, I’m done listening to you. I think you made it pretty clear yesterday how you treat your _family_.”

“Yeah, and I’m _sorry._ We were wrong, and we’re all sorry. Isn’t that right?” She shoved Blue Barney roughly. 

Blue Barney made a face like he wanted to tell her off, but thought better of it. He rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, whatever. Boss, uh… You know, he went a little too far, and that ain’t cool, or somethin’.”

“So we all got together and decided to find you,” said the redhead. “Look, we all feel shitty about what happened, and by the way? We’re putting our asses on the line to make it right, so you better appreciate it, okay? Figured you’d wanna go after Lillie, so we hung around here ’til you showed up ’n stuff.”

“Wow, I’m _so touched_ ,” Gladion said. 

“Hey, wait, that’s great!” Hau said. 

“Hau, _no_ ,” Selene said. “Don’t even think about it.”

“What? We gotta get to Aether Paradise, and they got a boat we can use. What’s there to think about, you know?”

“They’re Team Skull!”

“And you’re that crazy Veleno chick from before,” said Blue Barney. “What’re you even doin’ here?”

“What the fuck did you just call me?” Selene said, brandishing her blighted hand.

Gladion grabbed her elbow to stop her from doing something stupid. “She’s with me. They both are.”

Selene roughly yanked her arm free. It was the second time he’d grabbed her blighted hand without fear, and it was starting to piss her off, like he didn’t appreciate the danger or thought he was above it or some bullshit. 

Gladion wasn’t paying attention to Selene anymore as he considered. “…You said you wanna make things right? Then get us to Aether Paradise. All of us.”

“Gladion, wait, you can’t be serious,” Selene said. “These people turned their backs on you. You said so yourself!”

“This isn’t about me; it’s about Lillie. If this is how we can get to her, then so be it. It’s not like we have much of a choice right now.” To Lei Fan and Blue Barney he said, “But after this, we’re through.”

Blue Barney harrumphed. “Big talk for such a skinny kid.” He jerked his bulbous head at Decidueye. “C’mon, let’s get our asses movin’ before Animal Control shows up for that roadkill. Bet they can smell him all the way in Konikoni.”

And so, Selene found herself on the deck of a large speed boat cruising south to the floating island community that was Aether Paradise. She learned that the big tattooed guy was Hani, the redhead was Samantha, and the boat’s driver was an unshaven sleepy-eyed guy everybody called Sweet Dreams Danny, who looked like he might nod off at any moment. 

None of them had much to say to her, except for Hani, who watched Decidueye soaring above them. He seemed keenly interested in Decidueye, and Selene wondered about his creepy skull tattoos. 

“He a Ghost?” Hani asked her. 

“Yeah.”

Hani nodded like this made perfect sense to him. Selene couldn’t quite place it, but something about him seemed familiar, like he could have been a neighbor or friendly stranger on the street despite appearances. Some people had that air about them, peaceful, even serene, like they had no agenda at all. 

“I like your ink,” she said, unsure whether she really meant it or not. It was…something, at least. A bold choice, if not totally at odds with the vibe she was getting from him. 

He looked at her thoughtfully, and his gaze fell to her hands. “I like yours, too.”

Selene clasped her blighted hand self-consciously out of habit, but Hani only smiled, and the skull’s tattooed teeth smiled with him.

Hau, unsurprisingly, was animatedly chatting up their new “friends”. He was telling Samantha about some trashy television show they had both watched. 

“I can’t believe she didn’t pick Ricardo! He was soooo dreamy,” Samantha whined. 

“Nah, he was totally lolo! He lied about still being married to that other lady and havin’ three kids. Who does that?” Hau said. 

Samantha waved him off. “Uh-uh, _you’re_ lolo, and she’s too dumb to realize there’s a thing called divorce. Anyway, Blake’s _never_ gonna last with her, I’m calling it right now. He was so fake the whole time!”

“I dunno, I feel like she dodged a Bullet Seed pickin’ him over Ricardo, you know?”

“Bah!”

Gladion was brooding alone and glaring at the water as if it had personally offended him and his entire family. Selene went to join him at the railing. She could feel the sea spray on her cheeks, pleasantly cool against the warmth of the setting sun. 

“What?” he said.

“What?” she said.

“You know what.”

“Honestly, I have no idea what we’re talking about.”

Gladion scoffed. “Look, no offense, but I’m not in the mood. I just wanna get to Aether Paradise, find Lillie, and be done with this bullshit. No need to strike up conversation or be fake-polite on the way.”

“Says the guy striking up a conversation.”

He averted his gaze. “Whatever. Just get it over with and say what you came here to say.”

“I didn’t come here to say anything. I just wanted to stand here.”

“You’re a bad liar.”

“Well, excuse me for not giving a shit about last week on the Bachelorette.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Gladion’s Skull tattoo was glaring at her from his bicep. She still found it hard to believe that he was Lillie’s brother. They seemed to have nothing in common at all. Could it be the fault of his time as a member of Team Skull? How did someone even end up on that path? Selene could not help but wonder. 

Hau and Samantha burst out laughing about something. 

“He seems like the type to make friends wherever he goes,” Gladion said. 

“He is, for better or for worse,” Selene said. 

Gladion grunted, but he continued to watch Hau, curious. Selene bit the inside of her cheek, thinking.

“He and Lillie became pretty close. Hau’s probably the reason I ever did anything to help her, to be honest. He has a big heart.”

Gladion went back to staring at the sea. “So does Lillie. She always did.”

He fell into his own thoughts again, and Selene wondered if he was thinking of a time before all this, before he’d left Lillie and their mother. What would it be like to abandon everything she’d ever known and loved to go out on her own alone, as Gladion had done? Until someone found her, like Guzma had found Gladion. 

The thought of Guzma soured her mood. She could not get the image of him clawing at his own face and hair, berating himself, out of her head. There was something about him that unsettled her deeply. 

“So what’s the deal—” she began.

“About what happened—” Gladion said at the same time. 

They both paused, and Gladion frowned and rubbed his mouth as if to get a bad taste out. “You first.”

“I was going to ask about Guzma.”

Gladion’s frown only deepened. “What about him?”

“He seemed… I don’t know, just, the fact that he manages to lead a whole gang and get them to turn on one of their own—”

“He’s not usually like that. He’s a hard-ass, and he’s not the type to help an old lady cross the street or whatever, but he’s not… He’s not usually like that.”

“Why are you defending him? I saw what he did to you. It wasn’t okay. There’s no excuse.”

“Yeah, well, there’s a lot you don’t know about him. Or about me. So maybe don’t get on your high horse about shit you don’t understand.”

Selene stared at him. “Okay, asshole. Excuse me for giving a crap.”

“Why do you give a crap? ‘Cause it’s not for me, obviously, and from the way you talked about Lillie before, it’s not for her either.”

“What, so I need a reason to be upset about you getting the shit beat out of you by someone who was supposed to be on your side?”

Gladion said nothing to that.

“Look, you’re right, okay? We don’t have to be best friends to get through this and help Lillie. But I at least think we shouldn’t be second-guessing every move we make. You don’t have to like me, but you can trust me to stay the course.”

_Like you should have been able to trust Guzma._

The words went unsaid, but the way Gladion flushed and averted his gaze uncomfortably told her he got the message. When he didn’t respond, she figured that was as much as she was going to get from him. She pushed off the railing to leave him alone.

“I do trust you,” he said. “To help my sister, I mean. I saw you and Hau trying to help her yesterday. You didn’t have to. Look, I’m…” He struggled with his words, and he’d lowered his voice as though self-conscious. “About your Dartrix, I’m sorry.”

Selene had not been expecting his apology, and it showed. She could still remember the chilling horror of watching Dartrix get ripped apart, hearing the crunch of his bones, watching his eyes turn glassy. It had been awful, and it had nearly broken her. 

“Thank you,” she said, meaning it.

Gladion nodded stiffly and went back to watching the waves racing by.

“I’m sorry, too, about attacking you. I had no idea Decidueye would kill those guys. I never… I never killed anyone before.”

“Yeah,” Gladion said softly. There seemed to be nothing else to say to that, and Selene was grateful that he didn’t try to explain how she should feel, how she should cope or move on. Just being there to witness her apology was enough. 

“That reminds me,” Selene said. “I poisoned Null. Is he really okay?”

“He’s fine. Like it never happened.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense.”

“He was a little dazed when it happened, but then he was fine.”

“But he’s not a Poison-type. In fact, he’s not like any Pokémon I’ve ever seen before.”

“Null’s…different. Let’s just say he’s another one of Lusamine’s victims. If I hadn’t gotten him outta there when I left…”

There was more he wasn’t saying, but Selene felt like she should not push him for more information now. “You’re lucky to have him. If he hadn’t stopped me, it would’ve been you I poisoned.”

Selene examined her blighted hand, half concealed with the fingerless glove she’d bought with Burnet. It was one thing for Decidueye to attack others, but Selene had never actively tried to use her curse against another person before. She covered her rotted fingers with her blanched ones. 

“Yeah, well, you didn’t. Not like it’s really all that easy to kill somebody like that, anyway. You’d have to get pretty close, and that’s just as dangerous for you as it is for them.”

Selene was a little surprised by the irritation in his tone. “You’d think differently if you were like me.”

“If I were like you, I wouldn’t be half as useless as I am right now.” He showed her his healthy left hand.

Selene looked at him, at a loss for how to respond to that. She considered whether he might be making fun of her somehow, but he didn't seem like the type. She looked down at her own left hand, her healing hand, bloodless and white-knuckled as it covered the other. 

“Land-ho, mateys,” called Sweet Dreams Danny. “‘Bout time, too. I gotta take a leak.”

“Whoa,” Hau said, leaning over the prow. “So that’s Aether Paradise? It’s huge!”

“Eh, it ain’t _that_ big,” Blue Barney said, pale with nausea, as he emerged from below deck.

Selene begged to differ as she stared up at the looming palace that was Aether Paradise. A sprawling architectural wonder, the self-contained island base was at least a mile across. The tallest tower in the center was crowned with an arboretum encased in glass. The walls were white stone and concrete, yellow-bright with the light of the setting sun. 

“Swing around back,” Gladion said. “There’s a loading dock there reserved for my family’s personal use. Security there’ll be thinner than at the main entrance.”

* * *

 

Malie City was a place redolent of antiquity and tradition in a way that reminded Gary a little of Ecruteak City in Johto. As the old capital of Alola, the city was full of ancient temples and expansive gardens from a bygone age. The historical structures were remarkably preserved, having been reconstructed and repainted over the years to maintain their luster. Malie Garden, the largest of the outdoor gardens, was the site of the old imperial palace, a sprawling, gold filigree pavilion surrounded by deep, man-made lakes and manicured bonsai. Today the garden was the site of a certain national mahjong tournament, and it was packed with spectators and competitors alike. 

Gary and Ivy weaved their way through the crowd in search of Samson, but there were so many people around that Gary doubted they would locate him anytime soon. To make matters worse, it was beginning to get dark. Pikachu had once again escaped her Pokéball and had a runny nose that made her sneeze periodically. Gary opted to carry her in his arms and deal with the Pokéball malfunction later. It seemed to cheer her up, but every time she sneezed, Gary felt an unpleasant electric jolt down his back.

The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers, but Gary had trouble seeing what all the commotion was about. 

“Hey, over there,” Ivy said, pointing. “I see him by that bridge.”

“Lead the way,” Gary said, trusting Ivy’s eyes in the gloom. 

They skirted the crowd and came upon a cordoned section of the garden, where chairs had been set up for some spectators to sit while they watched the match. From the looks of it, the match had just ended, and a skinny teenage boy with a halo of pimples around his jaw was grinning from ear to ear as he posed for a picture with some old people in suits. To Gary’s surprise, Samson was one of the people surrounding the boy waiting to shake his hand. 

“Uncle Samson?” Gary said as he and Ivy made their way to him. 

“Gary, Ivy, what a surprise! Did you come here to watch the tournament? What a thrilling match, don’t you think?” Samson said. 

“Hey, you clean up pretty good,” Ivy said, nodding at Samson’s grey suit. 

He wore a floral shirt under his grey blazer that clashed horribly with the rest of his outfit, buthe still managed to pull off the look better than anyone else who might have attempted it. 

“Thank you, I dressed for the occasion,” Samson said. 

Gary couldn’t argue with that, but decided not to comment on Samson’s ridiculous fashion faux pas. “We didn’t come here for the tournament. We actually need to talk to you.”

“Well, there’s a reception for all the V.I.P.s in a bit, and I’m expected. Why don’t you two come along? There’s always a dearth of young people at these things, you know. We can talk then, yes?”

Half an hour of hand-shaking and picture-taking later, Gary was growing impatient as Samson seemed more keen on partying with his fellow geriatric mahjong fans than taking ten minutes to talk to Ivy and him. Samson wandered to the bar and ordered another Starf berry daiquiri and asked whether Gary and Ivy wanted anything.

“Whiskey neat, thanks,” Ivy said. 

“Uncle Samson, seriously, we don’t have time for drinks. We really need to talk to you,” Gary said. 

“Yes, of course, all in due time. I’d like to introduce you to Jaeho Kwon, this year’s mahjong champion. He’s only seventeen, but quite gifted. It’s truly remarkable… Oh, thank you.” Samson accepted the large tropical drink the bartender had prepared, tiny pink umbrella and all, and handed a small whiskey tumbler to Ivy. 

“That’s great, but we’re really not here for the mahjong.” He pulled out Ivy’s Pokédex and showed one of the grainy pictures to Samson. “What is this, and why did you put it on our Pokédexes?”

Samson eyed the picture as he sipped his drink through a bright yellow straw. “I didn’t put that on your Pokédex.”

“Well, actually, you did when you updated it,” Ivy said.

Pikachu, still in Gary’s arms, perked up and sniffed at the Pokédex like she was just as confused as Samson. 

Samson frowned deeply. “Hm, an inadvertent error, I suppose. Well, it can’t be helped now.”

“Yes, it can,” Gary said, exasperated. “What’s going on? I know you know something about this.”

“Actually, this is Isla’s area of expertise, not mine. Why don’t you try speaking with her?”

Samson waved to someone over Gary’s shoulder and looked like he wanted to head over to meet whoever it was. Gary stood in his way. 

“We tried that, and she confiscated my Pokédex. She made it very clear that she wasn’t going to talk to us about anything.”

It was Samson’s turn to look exasperated. “Well, I’m very sorry to hear that, but I don’t have the answers you’re looking for. The Ultra Mirror is Isla’s project. It doesn’t have anything to do with my work.”

“Whoa, hold up,” Ivy said. “Ultra Mirror? Oh…of course! The ‘UM’ in UM-472-S, that scrap metal ring. I _knew_ there was something going on there!”

“That’s the one. The Ultra Mirror is a project Isla brought with her from Aether Paradise when she left to start her own lab.”

“Aether Paradise,” Gary said. “As in, Aether Foundation’s island headquarters.”

“As in, President Lusamine,” Ivy said, raising her glass and grinning in her I-told-you-so way she got on the rare occasions when she had been right all along. “What were you saying before about her ‘sterling reputation’?”

Gary ignored her smugness. “So, you’re saying Professor Burnet worked for Aether, took some proprietary technology with her when she left, and it has something to do with these strange Pokémon entries you uploaded to the Pokédex?”

“And all of it has something to do with Lillie’s kidnapping and Team Skull attacking the beach,” Ivy said triumphantly. “The question is, what?”

Samson sighed. “Listen, I don’t know what you two are on about, but I still have people to greet. Perhaps we can pick this up a bit later?”

Gary looked at Samson in disbelief. “Later? Uncle Samson, people died on that beach. A woman was kidnapped. And your lab is at the center of all this. There’s no later; we need to get back to Heahea City now and talk to Professor Burnet again. With you there, I think we have a better shot at getting her to open up.”

“I can see you’re upset,” Samson said calmly, “but it sounds like whatever happened with this Team Skull is a job for the police and the Kahuna.”

“How can you say that? I came here for your help, and you don’t seem to care at all.”

“Of course I care, Gary, but I—”

“No, you don’t, or you wouldn’t be making excuses. And you know what? I should’ve expected this.”

“Gary, don’t,” Ivy said.

He ignored her. “No, I’m done listening to excuses. You could help us, but you’re more interested in schmoozing with your mahjong pals. Are you protecting Professor Burnet? Is she in on this?”

“Now wait just a moment,” Samson began. 

“I’ve _been_ waiting! I waited to meet with you while you faked sick to get out of work and go to a mahjong tournament. I waited at this stupid party while you wasted my time networking rather than taking ten goddamned minutes to talk to me, your family.”

“Gary,” Ivy said, a warning hand on his shoulder. “Seriously.”

Gary shrugged her off and jostled Pikachu. She squeaked, as irritated as Gary felt, and began to spark. 

“I’m done waiting,” Gary said. “I’m done waiting for you to show a shred of responsibility at all. Gramps was right about you: you really are the laziest Oak ever. The world lost a great mind when he died, but you’re just—”

“Gary!” Ivy cut him off. 

She grabbed his shoulder again, but Pikachu shocked her, and she yelped in pain. Pikachu had crawled onto Gary’s shoulder, her hair standing on end and ready to attack, her sniffles forgotten. 

Samson said nothing. He clutched his tropical drink in both weathered hands. His dark eyes were still and unreadable, but Gary was surprised to see him smile sadly. “You’re right,” he said softly, “I’m just Samson Oak, the lesser and lazier version no one would have missed.”

Gary’s anger suddenly left him and he realized what he’d just said. He grew warm with shame at losing his temper. But before he could find his words, a woman called to Samson and waved him over to join her and her companions. 

“I’m sorry for wasting so much of your time,” Samson said, excusing himself to join her. 

Gary watched him go, still unable to say anything. He could think of nothing to say. Pikachu had sat down on his shoulder, her ears drooping as her sniffles started up again. He barely noticed her static. 

“Nice going,” Ivy said, clutching her hand and the red rash from Pikachu’s shock. She’d dropped her glass in the commotion. 

“Ivy,” Gary said, contrite. 

“I’m getting another drink. I’d ask if you want anything, but right now I really couldn't care less what you want.”

She turned her back on him and headed to the opposite side of the bar.

* * *

 

Lusamine was in a black mood after visiting Lillie earlier that morning. The insolent girl refused to atone for her reckless actions. All these years of work, all the lonely days and sleepless nights, the sacrifices Lusamine had made, all of it had nearly vanished. How could she be so selfish? Both of Lusamine’s children had run off, and even though Lillie was back, she was not truly here, not anymore. When had they stopped being a family? 

“Ah, Madam President, we’re nearly ready for you,” said Faba, removing his enormous glasses to dab at his eyes with an old tissue. “The creature is sedated, and the beasts are currently being prepared for deployment.”

Lusamine was grateful for the distraction from her troubled thoughts and gave Faba her full attention, doing her best to ignore the filmy tear dribbling down his nose. “Good. Are they behaving?”

“Well, yes and no. I’ve shut down the RKS functionality in hopes that will calm them. I believe the traditional EM wave signal should get them up and going, even if they won’t have access to the full suite of RKS abilities.”

Lusamine was not pleased with that answer. RKS had been Colress’s invention, the so-called pinnacle of his Chimera behavior altering technology, but the fool had been too confident in his ability and launched it prematurely. Now, the beasts she had genetically engineered to accept the program were feral and uncontrollable, having rejected the implant as violently as if it were a disease. 

Faba sensed her displeasure and shrank. “Yes, well, the beasts themselves are healthy and strong even without RKS. With the right dose of EM wave radiation, they’ll be at your command and ready to fight, if necessary.”

_A meat shield is better than nothing._

“Very well. But I want no surprises, Faba. They better be as docile as newborn Skitty and unfailingly obedient.”

“They know no fear,” Faba assured her. “The EM signal will wipe them of everything but the need to obey, I’ve tested it myself. I think you’ll be quite pleased with the results.”

_I would have been pleased with ten perfect Type: Full, not these defective models,_ Lusamine thought. 

There was no use belaboring the point. Type: Full had been a nice idea, but it had been doomed to failure from the start thanks to Colress’s astronomical hubris and inability to accept reality. The RKS program he had designed to enhance their elemental powers had driven most of them berserk and rendered them unsalvageable. The ones that didn’t kill each other were terminated before they could turn that madness on their human masters. What should have been a small army of ten genetically modified beasts was now just four so-called Type: Null, a far cry from the super soldiers Lusamine had paid handsomely for. 

_Three_ , Lusamine corrected herself. Gladion had absconded with the fourth when he’d abandoned his family three years ago. Three would have to do. 

“Just make sure they’re ready,” Lusamine said.

Faba nodded and excused himself to do just that. Meanwhile Lusamine joined the small army of engineers and scientists hard at work here in the arboretum, which she had commandeered for this project exclusively. Most of the team were hunched over their computer screens running tests and checking for any missed bugs in the system. Their desks and workspaces were spread out between towering Banyans and sprawling Eucalyptus. One engineer was busy welding a section of the enormous ring of metal in the center of the room—the Ultra Mirror itself. Lusamine went to examine it. 

It was connected to five supercomputers monitoring everything from temperature to radiation. Taller than a man and thicker of frame than its predecessor, this latest model of the Ultra Mirror was sturdier, more refined, and tested. The pedestal next to it supported a glass container also hooked up to the super computers and the Ultra Mirror itself. Inside was Cosmog, passed out and unmoving while the device was powered down. Lusamine gazed down at the gaseous creature, remembering the first time she’d laid eyes on it. 

_Time to go home, Cosmog._

They would both be going home today. It was so close that Lusamine could almost taste it. She placed a hand on the Ultra Mirror, the braided metal frame cold under her fingers. Completely unremarkable, and yet within lay all the answers she had been searching for. 

_What did you see when you went through?_

She tried to imagine what Mohn had witnessed when he stood in this same position all those years ago and reached through. The few seconds of grainy security footage that had captured his final moments in his lab, in this world, and the tapering fingers that reached back for him… Lusamine pushed her hand through the ring and spread her fingers. 

The lights in the arboretum dimmed and flickered all of a sudden, and some of the lab techs started to complain as they attempted to reboot their computers. Above, beyond the thick glass dome, twilight’s first stars flickered bright, as though seizing upon the chance to shine while the electricity short-circuited. Lusamine heard the word ‘brown-out’ tossed around, but whatever the disturbance had been passed in seconds. The backup generators did not even engage. She withdrew her hand and rubbed her fingers, cold. Movement caught her eye, and she looked down at Cosmog. The creature had woken up and stared at her with those flickering yellow eyes. 

Lusamine narrowed her eyes at it, not liking that look. “You’re going back to your world, Cosmog, and you’re taking me with you.”

Cosmog smoked violet, but didn’t make a sound. It didn’t even blink. There was something infuriating about that look from such a pathetic little creature that had brought so much ruin to her family. 

_I’m not the one who’s been cruel._

Lusamine tapped on the glass container and Cosmog roiled inside, irritated by the sound. 

“Madam Prez, ain’t you a sight,” said Guzma as he came up behind her. Thankfully, he had the sense to stop a respectable distance from her, but it didn’t stop him from leering at her. 

Lusamine gave Cosmog’s glass prison a last hard tap, sending it into an explosive recoil, before turning her attention to Guzma. She had to stop herself from scoffing at the sight of him in his baggy jeans and hoodie. The crown of the skull tattoo on his neck was just visible under the collar, angry black against his bone-white hair. He licked his lips when he caught her looking. 

“Guzma,” she said, careful to keep her tone even but not cold, “you shouldn’t be in here.”

“It’s cool, I’m with security. Consider me your personal bodyguard.” The way he let his eyes drift over her figure, Lusamine could hear the crass joke that would have followed had they been alone. She supposed she had to give him some credit for remembering to hold back in public this time.

“So, we doin’ this thing or what?” he asked. 

Lusamine decided to let it slide for now. No need to cause a scene that could interfere with her plans. Guzma was best kept mollified and docile. She thought about sending him to Faba and the beasts; perhaps Guzma could have benefitted from whatever treatment Faba was giving them. The thought brought a small smile to her face, and Guzma lit up like a puppy unexpectedly invited to sit on his master’s lap. 

“Soon,” Lusamine said. “There are some final preparations to make.”

“Great. Whatever you need me to do, consider it done.” Guzma patted the Pokéballs at his belt. 

Lusamine considered. “Actually, I may have a job for you after all.”

* * *

 

Selene did not like the idea of going inside where Decidueye could not follow, but with no way to recall him to Dartrix’s old Pokéball she was left with little choice. The undead owl circled Aether Paradise, melting into the encroaching twilight as if he were nothing but a shadow. 

“So, what’s the plan?” Samantha asked as soon as they had moored the speedboat and gathered on the deserted loading dock. A couple other boats bobbed in the water, but there seemed to be no one around. 

“We gotta go find Lillie,” Hau said, stamping a fist to his palm. “Hey, Gladion, any idea where she’d be?”

“Probably her room,” Gladion said.

“You don’t think Lusamine would keep her around to watch her?” Selene said. 

“Not a chance. Lillie’d just be a burden. Easier to lock her away and forget about her.”

Selene didn’t like the way he said it, so casually cold, like this was just the way things were and there was no point in trying to change them.

“Okay, which way’s her room?” Hau asked, eager to get moving. “Think we can sneak up there without runnin’ into anybody?”

“Unlikely, but that's what Pokémon are for.” Gladion took out Null’s Ultra Ball as if to prove his point. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Blue Barney said. “Hold on a sec, hot shot. You let that monster out and these Aether guys’ll go ballistic.”

“I agree, force is a bad idea,” Lei Fan said.

Gladion glared at them. “Well, you got a better idea? It’s not like they’re gonna just hand over Lillie and Nebby with a heartfelt apology.”

“Hey wait, aren’t there more o’ you guys here?” Hau said. “Like, Aether and Team Skull’re workin’ together, right?”

“Hey, yeah, you guys should be able to blend in,” Selene said. “No one’s gonna question some Skull guys walking around here. You shouldn’t have to hide at all.”

“Actually, that might just work,” Gladion said. “Right, Hau and Selene, you guys go with Hani and Samantha to get Lillie.”

“What? What about you?” Selene shot back. 

“I’m going after Lusamine and Nebby. Blue Barney, Lei Fan, you’re with me.”

“Heh, I’m in,” Blue Barney said. “The woman who popped out that sister o’ yours’s gotta be a helluva MILF, yo.”

Gladion shot him a murderous look, but Hani was quicker and squeezed his shoulder, hard. 

“Ow, fuck me!” Blue Barney cursed. 

“Settle down, bruddah,” Hani said in his low rumble, almost friendly. But he didn’t let Blue Barney go.

“Uh, what about me, Gladion?” said Sweet Dreams Danny, yawning. 

Gladion was still glaring daggers at Blue Barney. “Stay with the boat. We might have to make a break for it, so be ready to haul ass.”

Sweet Dreams Danny looked immensely relieved that he wouldn’t have to do anything dangerous like run around Aether Paradise un-kidnapping little sisters. “Sounds good to me.”

“No way,” Selene said. “I’m going with you.”

“I don’t need you,” Gladion said. 

Selene would have laughed at how childish he sounded if there wasn’t a real possibility that they wouldn’t leave here with their lives. “Yeah, you do. What’re you gonna do if you run in to Guzma? Or Lusamine?” She glanced at Blue Barney, who was still trying to get Hani release the death grip on his shoulder, and Lei Fan, who was more interested in some dirt under her nails. “What’re they gonna do?”

A few tense seconds passed. Gladion looked like he meant to say something, but thought better of it.

“Gladion, come on. We already talked about this.”

“Fine, do whatever you want. But you follow my lead, got it? I’m the only one who knows this place and the people here. Don’t look at me like that, Selene, I’m not fucking around here. Tell me yes.”

Selene set her jaw, but she nodded. “Fine. Yes. Whatever.”

He held her gaze a moment, and then turned to Blue Barney and Lei Fan. “The same goes for you two.”

Lei Fan waved him off, and Blue Barney, whom Hani finally released, cursed colorfully. Rubbing his abused shoulder, he said, “Yeah, yeah, skater boy. You can be the boss for a day s’long as you quit your bitchin’.”

“Selene, what about Lillie?” Hau said. 

“I know. But I think this is the best way I can help her right now. She’ll want to see you, anyway. I’ll watch your back,” Selene said. 

Hau studied her, searching for something, though Selene could not imagine what. “Okay, if you say so. But don’t go doin’ anything too brave, okay? You do that a lot.”

Selene made a face. “No I don’t, what?”

“You do. Just… Just be safe, yeah?”

Gladion gave Hau’s group directions to the living quarters, and Selene watched Hau run off with Samantha, while Hani brought up the rear one booming step at a time. 

“So, _Boss_ ,” Blue Barney sneered. “Where to?”

Gladion bravely bit back whatever nasty retort was on the tip of his tongue. “This way.”

He took off down the hall in the opposite direction of Hau’s group to an elevator, placed his palm on a X-Transceiver reader, and unlocked the elevator’s functions.

“That was lucky,” Selene said, unimpressed. 

Gladion smirked. “That was arrogance. Why would Lusamine bother to change the security protocols if there was no way I’d ever be welcomed back here?”

Selene couldn’t seem to find the same satisfaction that he did, though. She averted her eyes, suddenly put off by the sight of him smirking. He punched a button, and the elevator began to ascend. 

“What’s in the penthouse?” Lei Fan asked, twirling a knife between her fingers. 

“My father’s lab,” Gladion said. “That’s where Lusamine and Nebby’ll be.”

“Your father? Does he know about what Lusamine’s been doing?” Selene asked. 

Gladion stared at the button panel. “He wouldn’t. He’s dead.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

Gladion continued to stare at the buttons, watching as the lights flickered on each floor they passed. “Now you know.”

“So the guy’s dead but his lab’s still here?” Blue Barney asked. 

Lei Fan shot him a dirty look. 

“What?” crossed his arms and glared up at her in challenge. “Dead guy don’t need a lab, you know.”

“Shut the fuck up,” she hissed. 

“It’s fine,” Gladion said. “He’s been dead for years. It’s not a big deal.”

Selene watched his profile as he continued to fixate on the elevator lights. He was standing just inches away from her in the cramped compartment, easily within reach. And yet, she got the most uncanny sensation that if she did reach for him, he would shatter on contact. He felt her gaze and finally turned to meet it. 

“What?” he demanded. 

Selene tried to think of something to say to him, but could not find the right words.

“We’re here,” Lei Fan said when the elevator dinged. 

Gladion jerked his head, and Selene shuffled out of the elevator. She clenched her blighted fist so hard that the nails drew blood from her palm. 

Blue Barney whistled appreciatively. “Gladion, your family’s totally loaded, huh?”

“Lusamine is, not me. C’mon, let’s get moving.”

Everything was white, polished, and high-ceilinged to the point that Selene thought the only thing missing was the proverbial holy light at the end of the tunnel. The windows offered a view of the ocean and Akala Island to the north. Closer, Selene could make out the other buildings that made up Aether Paradise, far taller even than this one. The central building, crowned by the arboretum, shimmered with sunset’s warm pinks and yellows and reminded her of a fortune teller’s crystal ball.

Gladion had to access another palm reader to get in to the lab proper, but this one was giving him some trouble. He could not unlock it. 

“Damnit,” he swore. “That doesn’t make any sense. No one uses this lab anymore.”

“It won’t open?” Lei Fan asked, peeking over his shoulder at the glass palm reader. 

“So what? We got Pokémon. Let’s break down the door,” Blue Barney said. 

“If we do, that’ll set off the alarms. That’s the whole point of all this security,” Selene said. 

“You got a better idea, Poison Ivy?”

Selene shot him a venomous look, but Blue Barney just grinned, happy to have gotten a rise out of her. 

“I hate to say it, but he’s right,” Gladion said. “This isn’t gonna open for me, and if I keep trying, it’ll go into lock down and alert everybody anyway.” He palmed Null’s Ultra Ball. “Guess we’re going in the old fashioned way.”

But just as he was getting ready to release Null and smash in the door, the elevator dinged again. Someone was coming. 

“Oh, shit!” Blue Barney said.

But Lei Fan was quicker to react. She scooped him up under her arm and dashed back around the elevator bank so that whoever was coming out wouldn’t see them. Selene yanked Gladion back and dragged him to the other side of the elevator in a similar fashion. He nearly dropped Null’s Ultra Ball in the process, and when they were smashed up against the wall next to a potted ficus he had the nerve to glare scathingly at her. Selene glared right back and mouthed, “You’re welcome.” 

“…and we’ll need to use the utility elevator for transport. The beasts are quite large, you know. I don’t want any scuffs on the main elevator. Repairs don’t pay for themselves, after all,” said one of the men exiting the elevator. 

“Yes, sir, we’ll be very careful with the transport,” came a woman’s voice. 

Selene saw their backs as they exited—the man was tall but hunched over, and the woman was dressed in an Aether security uniform. 

“It’s not _you_ I’m worried about, Jing,” the man complained. 

“My people know how to move a few boxes, Faba,” came a different woman’s voice. “There’s no need for concern.”

Selene stared at the back of the woman whose voice she’d first heard at the attack on the beach, and would not soon forget. 

_Plumeria._

There was no mistaking the bright dye job, midriff-baring street clothes, and those telltale Veleno hands. Plumeria clicked her long nails as she walked, and the sound sent unpleasant shivers down Selene’s spine. And she wasn’t alone: four beefy Skull thugs trailed after her, barrel-chested and sinewy. 

Gladion turned to Selene and mouthed, “Fuuuuck.”

Faba harrumphed as he fussed with the palm reader. “Yes, well, any brute can lift a heavy box. What concerns me is the contents of these particular boxes. I require a certain level of finesse and dexterity for this particular task. Do you think your, ah, _people_ can manage that?”

Plumeria visibly bristled, though Faba did not see it with his back turned to her. “We’ll give it our best shot."

“Ah! Here we go.” Faba managed to unlock the door and paraded himself inside, followed by the much less ostentatious Jing, Plumeria, and the four Skull thugs.

Gladion was staring at the door like a dumbstruck Deerling, so Selene once again had to haul him up before they missed their chance and the door closed on them. Together, they scrambled to get inside as quietly as possible, Lei Fan and Blue Barney right behind them. 

“What do you think of my lab?” Faba was saying to Plumeria. “I used to be a couple floors down, you know, but there’s so much more space up here. President Lusamine knew I had my eye on it, so of course I was at the top of her list when she finally decided to reassign it. It had been empty for years, such a waste!”

Selene and Gladion huddled behind a stainless steel table piled high with an array of scientific equipment that reminded Selene a little of her high school biology lab, if a bomb had gone off in it. It was so cluttered and disorganized that she wondered if any of it had been used in the last year. The whole lab was like that, with almost every inch occupied by everything from microscopes to a live examination table to a bulky computer monitor that had to be more than thirty years old. 

It was immediately clear that they were not in the right place. There was no sign of Nebby anywhere, and the only other people here were the group they’d followed in. Gladion looked like a hungry Houndoom ready to maul the last bone as he watched Faba and the others. Was he really so upset that his father’s lab had been given to someone else? Selene suspected he was hiding something, something important. Gladion’s anger and shock felt too raw to be about a death he’d come to terms with years ago. 

Faba was punching in a code on a computer panel on the back wall and mansplaining to Plumeria the complexities of transporting heavy cargo from one location to another in excruciatingly pedantic detail. “I’ll need them taken to the arboretum. That’s the one with all the trees over there, hence the name. You’ll need to move slowly. They’re quite heavy, so if you move too quickly, you’ll risk losing control of your direction and causing damage to the building, you see.”

Plumeria sighed. “We can’t have that,” she said, but it came out sounding a little more like “eat a dick” to Selene’s ears.

“We most _certainly_ cannot,” Faba agreed emphatically. 

The wall was actually a hidden door that slowly opened to reveal four large cargo containers stacked two on two. They were reinforced with titanium bars, which puzzled Selene. Until she realized they were designed to confine their cargo. Beside her, Gladion was as taut as a bowstring. 

“No way,” he hissed. “No fucking way.”

Selene squeezed his elbow, a silent reminder to stay quiet, but he didn’t seem to notice. There was anger there, as there’d been before, but she saw fear there too. The wall divider was completely open now, and that was when Selene heard it. Snarling, the clack of nails on metal, and a sight she’d seen many times before. 

“Type: Null?” Plumeria used their name, as shocked as Selene felt. 

Three of them, to be exact, all caged and pacing like Pyroar stalking their prey. Though they shared the same base components as Gladion’s Null, they were not quite identical. One had a long mermaid tail that reminded Selene of a Vaporeon’s tail, another had thick Beartic paws bigger around than a man’s head, and one was covered in plated gold scales like a Haxorus. But all three wore familiar iron helmets that revealed only their eyes and the glint of teeth, just like Gladion’s Null. 

“How do you know that name?” Faba said. 

“Gladion has one,” Plumeria said. “I thought he was the only one of his kind.”

Faba puffed up with pride. “Wrong! There were originally ten, but we encountered some difficulties keeping the specimens stable and were forced to terminate them. Gladion stole one of the remaining viable specimens before we could finish. It turned out that three more in addition to the one he purloined were salvageable, as you can see. More than salvageable even! I’ve turned failure into stunning success over the last three years, and today everyone will know it. Tell them, Jing!”

Jing nodded in numb resignation that this was actually her day job. “Yes, of course, sir. Everyone will be appropriately stunned by your stunning success, stunningly. But not if we don’t get these transported soon. President Lusamine is waiting.”

The four Skull guys who’d accompanied Plumeria moved as Jing directed and began to unload the large cargo cages. The mermaid tail Null snarled and snapped as they lifted the cage, and the Skull guys struggled to balance the weight. Somehow, they managed to lower the cage onto a trolley safely. 

Gladion was up and running at them before Selene had time to react. “Stop!” he shouted. 

Selene stared in horror. _What the fuck is he doing?!_

Lei Fan and Blue Barney were up and going after him, too. Their cover unceremoniously blown, Selene saw no further point in staying hidden and got up to join them. 

Faba whirled and dropped the X-Transceiver pad he was holding. He yelped when he saw Gladion and staggered back. “Y-You! What are _you_ doing in my laboratory?!”

“Your lab? This is my _father’s_ lab, you snot-eyed coward!” Gladion spat. “What the hell are all these Type: Null doing here, anyway? Have you just been keeping them locked up here like animals?!”

Everyone had stopped what they were doing to openly stare at Gladion screaming at Faba. Plumeria was stunned to see him, but she recovered quickly and placed a hand on the Pokéballs at her hip. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Selene said, brandishing Toxapex’s Pokéball. 

Plumeria met her gaze, then looked at Gladion, and then back at Selene, calculating.

“For your _information_ ,” Faba sneered, “President Lusamine in all her graciousness granted me this lab for my ever-expanding research needs. Oh, that’s right, you wouldn’t know because you ran away and joined a gang of hoodlums! Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. You always were a hoodlum yourself, Gladion. How did you even get in here? Bah! It doesn’t matter. Jing, sound the alarm! Intruders must be dealt with post haste.”

Jing did not move, though. Her attention was torn between the four intruders who looked ready to turn this confrontation physical and Plumeria, who looked like she might be ready to rise to the challenge. 

“Gladion,” Plumeria said, her gaze shifting to Blue Barney and Lei Fan behind him. “Calm down. We can talk about this.”

“Like you were so ready to talk about it on the beach?” Gladion said.

“It’s more complicated than that.”

“Yeah, right. Kidnapping my sister was too complicated for me to understand.”

Plumeria looked genuinely taken aback. “Blue Barney, Lei Fan. I’m guessing you’re not here to support Team Skull.”

Blue Barney looked uncomfortable under Plumeria’s accusatory gaze. “S-Sorry, Plumeria,” he stammered. “I mean, she was his fuckin’ sister, man…”

“Plumeria, come on,” Lei Fan said with more confidence. “Guzma went way too far. You must see that.”

“Guzma going too far is what keeps the rest of us safe when nobody else will,” Plumeria snapped. “Lei Fan, you should know that better than anybody after what he did for you with your old man.”

Lei Fan held her tongue as Plumeria struck a nerve. 

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Selene said, watching Faba fumble with his cracked X-Transceiver pad. 

Faba looked up at her through his enormous glasses. Those watery eyes bugged out like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and his thin mouth twisted at the sight of her. “Using my time wisely, obviously.” He tapped the screen, and the three cargo cages containing the Type: Null opened. “How about a little test run?”

Faba tapped more buttons on his pad, and the three Type: Null tensed and shivered, as though overcome by some unseen force. A tiny light in their helmets between the eyes blinked from red to green. 

“Attack!” Faba shouted, giddy. 

And they obeyed. Selene scrambled to release Toxapex, while Gladion released his own Null. 

“What are you doing?!” Plumeria said to Faba. “You’ll kill us all!”

The gold plated Null lunged at Selene, and Toxapex spread her thick, spiky arms in a shield to fend him off. They collided with a sickening smack. The smell of Toxapex’s paralytic poison permeated the room, but the enemy Null seemed impervious to its effects. 

Gladion’s Null Tackled the bear claw Null, and the two of them began to brawl on the floor. They crashed into a nearby shelf and knocked it over and onto a table littered with glassware and expensive equipment in their frenzy. Gladion’s Null tore at the enemy with his scaly bird talons, but the enemy Null crushed his throat and cracked helmet with those meaty bear paws and almost mechanical determination. 

Plumeria’s men looked torn between attacking Gladion, Selene, and their fellow Skull teammates. Plumeria herself looked just as torn as she clutched Salazzle’s Pokéball in a death grip, frozen. 

“Sandslash, go!” Gladion commanded, throwing another Pokéball. 

Sandslash came out spinning in a hoarfrost-encrusted Gyro Ball directly at the mermaid tail Null just as she was about to pounce on Blue Barney, who was too slow on his short legs to get out of the way. But she saw Sandslash coming and torpedoed him away with a hard smack of her mermaid tail. Sandslash went flying and crashed into the wall near Faba, who screamed shrilly and dropped his X-Transceiver pad again. This time, the device completely broke in two. He collapsed to the floor, frantic. 

“No, no!” 

Selene took one look at his face and knew they were in serious trouble now. The enemy Null spasmed again, the lights in their helmets flickering between red and green erratically. She tossed out Vileplume’s Pokéball. 

“Vileplume, restrain her!” Selene pointed at the mermaid tail Null, and Vileplume let loose with Vine Whip. The sentient vines constricted Null’s legs and neck, and she fought wildly, slapping her tail and snapping at the vines with her teeth. 

Lei Fan and her Raticate seized on the opportunity Selene and Vileplume created. “Raticate, Hyper Fang!”

The bristly black rat hissed and lunged for the mermaid tail Null, buck teeth glowing white with power, and sank his teeth into Null’s neck. Null writhed violently, but Raticate hung on and Vileplume constricted her vines tighter.

The gold plated Null that had been struggling with Toxapex lost interest as soon as Faba’s device shattered and broke whatever weird connection it was powering. He turned on the person nearest to him, which happened to be Jing. 

Jing screamed as she realized what was about to happen and tried to back away, but she was up against a wall. Plumeria was there with Salazzle in an instant, and the room’s temperature skyrocketed with the effects of Salazzle’s Incinerate. The purple lizard crashed into Null before he could tear Jing to pieces, aflame, and they wrestled in a mess of teeth and cinders. 

“Make them stop!” Plumeria shouted at Faba.

“I-I can’t!” he said, shaking like a leaf. “Th-The EM wave transmitter, it-it’s damaged!”

One of the Skull thugs became the unwitting victim of the bear claw Null, who had managed to get the better of Gladion’s Null and lashed out at the nearest warm body. The big man went down hard, pounding with his ham-thick fists in vain as Null crushed him under his immense weight. 

“Shit, Big Mike,” Blue Barney said, staring horrified at the body of his fallen teammate. 

Gladion was running to get at Faba, who saw him coming and abandoned the broken X-Transceiver to fumble at something in his pocket. There was a flash of light, and a Hypno materialized in front of Faba swinging a golden pendulum. Sunken, unblinking eyes bore into Gladion, who skidded to a stop, wary. 

“Oh-ho! Not so tough now, are you?” Faba jeered. “You may think you’re the hottest thing since boiling water, _boy_ , but even a Clairvoyant with no taste for battling shall not be trifled with! Hypno, get him out of my sight!”

Hypno swung his pendulum and began to glow blue with Confusion. 

“Gladion!” Plumeria shouted, sprinting across the room. She made it to Gladion just as Hypno began to levitate him with his Psychic power, and the two of them were flung headlong into the opposite wall, Plumeria cradling Gladion and taking the brunt of the impact. 

Salazzle saw the danger Plumeria was in and tried to extricate herself from the gold plated Null, but he took advantage of the confusion and smashed her face with a point-blank range Crush Claw. Salazzle jerked erratically, bleeding all over the pristine white floor. Two of the big Skull guys went to help Plumeria and Gladion, but Hypno levitated them, too, and sent them flying. 

All the commotion attracted the attention of the gold plated Null and the bear claw Null, who converged on Hypno like they had been starved of a decent meal for months. Selene saw her chance and, before Hau’s voice in her head could remind her that there was a very thin line between bravery and stupidity, she took off running, Toxapex doing her best to follow. 

She jumped and tore at the bear claw Null’s back with her poisoned hand, pressing her short, jagged nails in with all her might until she felt the skin prick and blood slick her fingers. Null bucked, and Selene took a glancing kick to the stomach that sent her flying. Toxapex was there to catch her, but those spikes did her no favors. Her only saving grace was her handy immunity to Toxapex’s poison. Gagging, Selene struggled to breathe as she clutched her belly half expecting to find a gaping hole in it, the pain was so intense. 

But her plan had worked, and the bear claw Null struggled to remain on his feet as the poison entered his system. As with Gladion’s Null before, this one’s feathered mane began to turn black with rot. Maybe the poison wouldn’t kill him, but at least it would slow him down for now. 

The gold plated Null attacked Hypno directly, and though Hypno tried to deter him with Confusion, Null had already gotten ahold of him, and they went rolling through the air together. Hypno’s blood rained down on the lab floor, and everyone on it, as he and Null ricocheted about like an arcade pinball. 

By now, Gladion had recovered. He was bleeding from a gash on his head, but he looked otherwise okay. Plumeria, however, was unable to stand on her own. He hoisted her up on his good shoulder. “Plumeria, shit, c’mon!”

The mermaid tail Null had managed to overpower both Raticate and Vileplume, got to her feet, and exploded with a strong Razor Wind. Vileplume’s vines were shredded, and Raticate was flung away hard. Null’s mermaid tail swung around into a nearby lab table, sending more equipment flying. A metal tray hit Blue Barney in the back of the head, and he went down, bleeding. 

This was a complete and total disaster, Selene thought, hopeless as she struggled to stand upright with Toxapex’s help. Unbelievably, the bear claw Null was still on his feet fighting her poison, and it looked like he was winning.

_What the hell are these things?!_

As if hearing her thoughts, Gladion’s Null, who had recovered from the struggle with the bear claw Null before, was back on his feet and barked. The bear claw Null was ready for him, and the two clashed once again. To Selene’s horror, the bear claw Null was winning. 

“Null!” Gladion said, stricken at the sight of his Pokémon’s suffering. 

The gold plated Null had finally crashed to a stop with a limp Hypno in his jaws—what was left of the Psychic. Faba could only watch, dumbstruck, at the death of his Pokémon. “Dead,” he babbled. “We’re all dead. All my work, everything Chimera promised, all for naught…”

“What’s wrong with you?!” Jing screamed at him, her dark hair a frazzled mess and Hypno’s blood spatter on her face. “We have to get out of here! Open the emergency elevator _now_!”

Faba stared up at her dumbly, and she yanked him up by his lab coat collar and slapped him. 

Selene didn’t have time to worry about them, though, because now the gold plated Null and the mermaid tail Null, though worse for wear, were up and coming to help their brother take out Gladion’s Null. 

“No!” Gladion said, his fear palpable. “Sandslash, help Null, hurry!”

But Sandslash was still struggling after the beating he’d taken from the mermaid tail Null before, and he was slow to respond. Selene swallowed the bile and pain in her stomach, lurched to her feet, and took off running before she could come up with any of a thousand reasons why this was a Dumb Fucking Idea. She lunged at the mermaid tail Null just as she was upon Gladion’s Null, but the mermaid tail Null smacked Selene away with her tail, and Selene landed hard on Gladion’s Null. In her fear, Selene scraped for a handhold, but found only Gladion’s Null’s bloodstained grey fur. The bear claw Null came down hard with his immense front paws, right on Gladion’s Null’s cracked helmet, and the force was so great that the whole thing finally shattered, brittle as glass. And all Selene could think of in that moment was Gladion, the sight of him crying on the beach, his anger at seeing Faba desecrate the memory of his father’s lab, the anguish in his voice as he called out to her. 

“Selene!” he shouted, his voice cracking as he saw her imminent doom. 

_So fragile,_ Selene thought, delirious with pain and a deep, welling melancholy at the thought of Gladion watching his dearest Pokémon die, as she had watched Dartrix die. _How can someone so tough be so brittle?_

Sticky heat shifted under Selene, and something moved. She opened her eyes with monumental effort and struggled to hold on, her blighted nails sunk deep into Null’s hide. Impossibly, he was rising and lifting her up with him. Pieces of his iron helmet fell to the floor with a clatter, bloody and full of matted feathers. Selene watched them turn a deep violet and shrivel where they lay. 

When she looked up, it was not Null she faced any longer. Gone was his iron mask, and beneath it his feathered white mane fluffed, glossy with blood and poison, allowed to expand unrestricted. A magnificent crest crowned his head, and his beak curved wickedly. But most extraordinary of all was watching him change. Those bloody white feathers bled to ashy violet, and the veins beneath his skin engorged, purple with poison. And yet, he did not fall; the poison seemed to be the very thing animating him. 

“Null…” 

Around them, the other three Null stamped the floor and growled and snarled at them, until finally the gold plated Null lost his temper and took a swing at Selene with Crush Claw. She barely had time to scream when Gladion’s Null suddenly began emitting noxious, violet energy. With a roar, the three enemy Null were blown back violently, burned by the mysterious power. 

Gladion’s Null stood tall, his mane dripping venom. It was everywhere around him, syrupy and sickly saccharine, and it was all coming from him. Somehow, in defiance of all the laws of nature, Null had transformed into a Poison-type Pokémon. 

Gladion was there in an instant with Plumeria, whom he set down to put his hands on Null. There were tears in his eyes as he looked over his beloved companion, having feared the worst and relieved to be wrong. 

“Inconceivable,” Faba muttered, equal parts aghast and august. “It actually worked.” He began to laugh hysterically. “The RKS program actually worked!”

“Who cares about any of that at a time like this?!” Jing said, looming over him threateningly.

Faba didn’t seem to hear her as he stared in awe at Null. “This is it, this is what I have been working for my entire career! Who would have guessed that a sniveling little brat was the key to completing Type: Full? It’s absolutely inconceivable, and yet I’ve conceived of it! My brilliance is just stunning!”

“No, it’s not! That was entirely Dr. Colress’s idea!” Jing said. She looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.

“Type: Full?” Selene said. 

“Silvally,” Gladion said. “The ultimate beast killer with no weaknesses, a brave knight in shining armor. She let me pick the name back then…” Silvally, or Type: Full, or whatever he was, leveled Gladion with a glassy stare. “Silvally, you were protecting her, because I…”

Gladion looked at Selene like he’d only just seen here standing there. She fisted her hand in Silvally’s thick fur, just to have something solid to hold on to. She didn’t know what to make of him when he looked at her like that, as raw as a nerve ending. 

Plumeria coughed, spilling blood on her pants and on the floor. Salazzle, looking just as bad from the beating she’d taken from the enemy Null, had slithered to her side, more concerned about Plumeria than herself. 

“Null,” she croaked. “…Silvally, he’s a Poison-type now.” She was looking right at Selene. “What did you do?”

“I…” Selene retracted her blighted hand, slick with Silvally’s blood where her nails had torn into his flesh. Plumeria saw, and something unspoken passed between them. 

“I see,” she said. 

Faba saw it, too. “So that’s what I was missing before. A Tamer’s blood, like a form of Mega Evolution… Ah, stunning! It all makes sense! Jing, call the emergency elevator. I must tell President Lusamine immediately. Her secret weapon against the Ultra Beasts has finally appeared, and she’ll be so pleased with my discovery! And you, Team Skull, secure the other three specimens. She’ll want all four for her mission, of course.”

“Oh, forget it! I’m not helping you, I’m getting the hell off this island!” Jing protested reasonably. 

The three big Skull guys who’d survived the attack looked around, unsure whose orders to follow. But Lei Fan solved the problem for them by clocking Faba in the face. A fountain of blood spewed from Faba's now broken his nose, and he collapsed to the floor. 

“How dare you! You dirty termagant! How _dare_ you strike me! I’ll have you know, I’m the Chief Branch Manager! I’m important!”

“Not anymore, you’re not,” Lei Fan said. 

The three enemy Null were beginning to recover from Silvally’s attack, and they struggled to their feet, impossibly still ready to fight. 

“Shit, _shit_!” Blue Barney swore. He and his Salandit, who had been too afraid to fight, scuttled behind one of the big Skull guys. “They’re gettin’ up, like fuckin’ zombies, yo!”

Silvally growled beside Gladion and stamped the cracked floor with his green-scaled claws. 

“Gladion,” Selene hissed, “we can’t fight them off like this.”

“Yeah, I’m _thinking_ ,” he hissed back. Sandslash quivered at his feet, afraid to face the three beasts again. 

The gold plated Null advanced, limping and dripping blood, but before Gladion could think of a way to deter him, Silvally leaped in between them and tossed his head in a roar. His toxic mane flared like a Heliolisk’s in a show of intimidation. Null snarled back, but stopped his advance. The bear claw Null joined his brother in a show of solidarity, but Silvally’s mane began to drip poison and glow with the beginnings of another chemical attack. He faced off with the bear claw Null in a tense stalemate, neither willing to back down. 

The bear claw Null stamped the floor and bellowed, and Silvally roared again and shook his mane. Poison droplets splashed the enemy Null and stayed his advance, each drop a knife of heat and pain. 

“What’s happening?” Selene asked no one in particular. 

“They’re laying claim,” Plumeria said. 

“Claim to what?”

“Us.”

Selene did not like the sound of that. The bear claw Null took a swipe at Silvally, but Silvally took the hit and pounced, Tackling Null to the floor. They snapped at each other, but Silvally’s poisonous mane soon drenched Null’s belly and burned away patches of dirty fur. Null was soon whimpering and fell still, no longer fighting back. Silvally snarled in his face one last time before getting off. It was over. 

Silvally stomped the floor again, and the gold plated Null and the mermaid tail Null, who had been too timid to get involved in the confrontation, lowered their heads and exposed their necks in submission. The bear claw Null remained prostrate on the floor, still whimpering. 

“The hell just happened?” Blue Barney said, still hiding behind the big Skull guy. 

“Silvally just saved our lives,” Gladion said through gritted teeth. 

_And the Null’s lives,_ Selene thought, amazed at how docile they’d grown now that the hierarchy had been firmly established and there was no need for further infighting. 

Jing, who was a little more proactive in her sense of self-preservation, was fiddling with the wall control panel. Next to the cargo cages, another section of the wall opened up to reveal a very large cargo elevator. 

“Hey, you all,” she addressed the room. “This way if you want to get out of here.”

The elevator was even more spacious than it looked from the outside. Lei Fan was the first in after Jing. 

“Why’re you helping us?” Lei Fan asked. “You’re with Aether.”

“I’m with whoever can keep me from dying. This job doesn’t pay _that_ well. Are you all coming or what? I’m not waiting around all day.”

Selene and the others followed Jing into the elevator, recalling their Pokémon as they went and helping each other maneuver. She and Gladion each took one of Plumeria’s arms and walked her between them. Plumeria’s legs dangled all but useless behind her, the bones broken from the impact she’d saved Gladion from. 

“Why’d you do it?” Selene said. “Why’d you interfere when that Hypno went after Gladion?”

Plumeria closed her eyes as if just thinking pained her. “Because, that’s what family’s for.” To Gladion she said, “We look out for each other…even when we’ve made mistakes.”

Gladion’s dirty bangs hid his eyes from Selene’s view, but he tensed. “Yeah."

Silvally remained outside his Pokéball, and the three Null followed him like Mareep as he trailed after Gladion to the elevator. 

“Uh-uh, no way,” said Jing when she saw the big beasts approaching. “This is where I draw the line.”

“I’m with Teach,” said Blue Barney. “Let’s leave the science projects in the lab where they belong.”

Jing did not appear to appreciate the pejorative pet name as much as Blue Barney did. 

“They’re not a threat anymore,” Gladion said. “You saw it, they accepted Silvally as their leader. They won’t hurt us.”

“Unless we ask them to,” Selene said, looking down at Faba clutching his nose and bleeding all over the corner of the elevator, where Lei Fan had dropped him. 

“The pets stay,” Plumeria said, her voice ragged as she struggled with her pain. “You’re gonna need all the help you can get if Guzma decides to stay loyal to Lusamine.”

“Guzma’s not the one I’m worried about,” said Gladion. “If she opens the gate, we’ll have the Ultra Beasts to worry about.”

“Okay, hold up,” Selene said. “What gate? And what’re Ultra Beasts? Faba mentioned them before, too.”

“There’s no time to explain right now. Jing, I have to stop Lusamine. Where’s she keeping Nebby and the Ultra Mirror? I thought it would be here in my father’s old lab, but obviously not.”

Jing frosted over. “Yes, she moved everything out of here when she handed the lab over to that asshat, Faba.”

“I beg your pardon!” Faba complained. 

Jing ignored him. “They’ll be in the arboretum. That’s where she set up the Ultra Mirror. I’m sure that’s where she took Cosmog, too.”

“Why?” Selene demanded. “I had a feeling back at the beach that Nebby was the real target, not Lillie, but I couldn’t figure out why. What’s really going on here?”

“It doesn’t matter right now,” Gladion said. 

“It _matters_ , Gladion. I was basically ready to die back there trying to save Silvally for you, so yeah, it fucking matters to me. Cut the shit and start trusting me like you said you would.”

Gladion flushed and looked at her, stunned. 

“I mean, she’s kinda got a point,” Blue Barney said. “Jus’ sayin’.”

“I know she has a point,” Gladion snapped at the dwarf. To Selene he said, “It’s a long story.”

“Talk fast,” Selene said. 

“What I said before, about my father being dead. That wasn’t true. Or, I mean, he must be dead at this point.”

“Not to be insensitive, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything,” Gladion said. He had that raw, unguarded look about him again, the one that was impossible to hide from. “Null, why I left, why Lillie left, our mother and her insane obsession, it all goes back to the day he opened the door to another world and disappeared.”

Selene did not understand, and for some reason, she was reminded of Lillie sinking into darkness, the stars closing in around her as she clutched Nebby in her skinny arms like a lifeline, for protection. Or maybe just so she wouldn’t sink into darkness all alone. 

“Nebby’s the key,” Gladion implored her to understand. “She’s the key that can open the door again, so Lusamine can go in after him. She thinks she can bring him back, no matter the danger.”

“Nebby’s a key? I don’t—”

“She’s one of them, the Ultra Beasts. Creatures from another world. And she’s the only one that can lure out the one that took my father. That’s Lusamine’s plan.” Gladion was shaking with the force of his emotions as he admitted the secret he’d been harboring for so long. “She’s gonna summon a true monster to our world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys, 148 kudos?! That is amazing! When I last updated there were fewer than 100, so I have to say I’m completely floored by the support. Thanks everyone!
> 
> Shout out to Gwendolyn, my new badass beta reader whose thoughtful insight and commentary on this chapter have made me a better person already, because that's what betas do. She will also be helping me with the forthcoming Hoenn fic, so anybody who is interested in that now has proof that it’s a Thing that will Happen and I am officially Accountable.


	10. Family Ties -or- Super Duper Fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I vaguely recall tagging this as a LonaShipping fic….!

Hau was dumbstruck at the sheer size of Aether Paradise. It was a wonder people didn’t get lost in this place. Gladion’s directions were simple enough to follow, but when Hau inevitably passed Aether employees going about their business he was so afraid they would see right through him to his purpose here and throw him out. However, none of them seemed to care about him and his two companions. Hau never thought he’d be so relieved to be associated with Team Skull. 

“Hey, I think it’s down this way, right?” Samantha said. 

“Man, I feel like we’ve been goin’ in circles, you know?” Hau said. “Everything looks the same!”

There were voices coming from around the corner, and Hau tensed. It sounded like an argument. He exchanged a nervous glance with Samantha, but Hani passed them both and rounded the corner like he owned the place. 

“…and I’m sayin’ you can’t go in there, lady! We got our orders!” said an overweight man in a Skull uniform. 

He was arguing with a voluptuous woman in a white Aether uniform. 

“And I’m telling you I’m simply here in my personal capacity. I was the girl’s nanny when she was small. I just want to speak with her,” said the woman. 

“Angelo,” said Hani, approaching. “Problem here?”

“Hani, what’s good, man?” said Angelo the Team Skull thug. “This Wicke lady says she wants to see that girl Boss brought back, but Boss says nobody goes in. I can’t just let her in, ya know?”

“Girl?” Hau said. “You mean Lillie? That’s her room, right?”

Angelo frowned. “Hey, who’re you? You’re not with Team Skull!”

Wicke nervously fiddled with her glasses and took a step back. Her eyes darted to the door Angelo was guarding. Hau watched her, suspicious. If she was with Aether, then she might try to stop him from freeing Lillie, or report him. He drew Passimian’s Pokéball. 

“Step aside,” Hau said.

“No,” Wicke said, her eyes drawn to Hau’s Pokéball. “I don’t know who you are, but I’ll call security if you don’t back off.”

Samantha rolled her eyes. “Ugh, _please_. Hani, like, a little help?”

“What the—hey!” Angelo shrieked as Hani bodily picked him up and set him down on a bench in the hall. “What the hell, brah?!”

“Stay,” Hani said. He smiled, and his tattoos smiled ghoulishly with him. 

Wicke was now in between the door and Hau, and he was running out of patience. 

“Lady, I’m not gonna say it again. Please just get outta the way,” he said. 

“Absolutely not! I won’t let you pass!”

“Hon, you don’t have a choice,” said Samantha, twirling her red hair. 

“What’s going on out there?” said a muffled voice through the door. 

“Lillie! Hey, is that you?” Hau said. 

“Hau? Hau!”

Before Wicke could stop him, Hani grabbed the door handle and yanked it clean off. The door swung open, and there stood Lillie, bewildered and a little frazzled. But the minute she saw Hau, she threw herself at him and nearly knocked him over. 

“Hau!” she said, tears in her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Hau grinned and spun her around. “I came to get you, obviously! What, did ya think we’d just forget about you? Not a chance!”

Lillie shook her head and laughed. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

“Hey, she’s not s’posed to be outside!” said Angelo. 

Lillie gasped and clutched Hau tighter. “Team Skull!”

“Whoa, whoa, it’s okay!” Hau said. “Hani and Samantha are with me, it’s cool!”

“W-What?”

“No, really! Me ’n Selene came here with Gladion and them to rescue you!”

“You did?” said Wicke. 

Lillie noticed her then and released Hau. “Wicke! Oh my goodness, what are you doing here?” She took her hands.

“I came to find you. I’m so sorry, I would have come sooner if I could have.” She glanced at Hau. “But it seems I’m not the only one who had that idea.”

“Wait, you’re not with those Aether tools?” Samantha said. 

Lillie made some quick introductions and explained that Wicke had been her and Gladion’s nanny growing up. It was Wicke who had helped Gladion leave home three years ago and Lillie most recently. 

“Wait, I don’t get it,” Hau said. “Why’d you do that if you work for Lusamine?”

Wick smiled sadly. “President Lusamine may be my boss, but my priority lies with Gladion and Lillie. It always has.” She touched Lillie’s cheek affectionately. “It’s why I stayed on all these years. But Lillie, you shouldn’t have come back. What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Samantha said. “One we totally shouldn’t waste time talking about here. Gladion said to get the girl and get out.”

Hau nodded grimly. “Right. Lillie, we gotta get you back to the boat and off the island.”

Lillie shook her head. “No, not without Nebby!” She turned to Wicke. “Mother has her. She’s going to use her to open the Ultra Mirror. We have to stop her!”

“Ultra whatsit?” Hau said. 

“The arboretum,” Wicke said, pale. “So that’s what all the commotion was about…”

“Wicke, please! I have to help Nebby before it’s too late!” Lillie pleaded with her. 

“Gladion said get you out,” said Hani. “Boat’s that way.”

Lillie frowned up at him. “Gladion isn’t here. He said to keep me safe, right? Well, I’m going to the arboretum. Come along if you want, but there’s no way I’m going anywhere without Nebby.”

“Whoa, Lillie, what’s gotten into you, huh?” Hau said. 

“Nothing, I just…” She shook her head. “I’m so tired of running and hiding. I’m tired of feeling so useless. I want to help! Hau, please, will you come with me?”

“Oh boy, how can I say no to that?” He smiled. “Ya know, Selene ’n the others are prolly goin’ to the arboretum, too. How do we get there?”

“I can take you,” Wicke said. 

“Wicke, no! If Mother finds out you helped us—”

“Then she’ll find out.” Wicke smiled. “It’s okay, Lillie. This is more important, and we can’t afford to waste any more time.”

* * *

 

Gladion stepped over the semi-conscious bodies of two Aether security employees Silvally and the mermaid tail Null all but trampled on their way to the arboretum, careful to balance Plumeria’s weight on his good shoulder. She was barely conscious herself, and on her other side, Selene was visibly struggling and clutching her stomach. Lei Fan was first through the doors with Jing, Raticate, and Slurpuff, but as soon as they entered the arboretum, a blast of frigid wind blew them back. 

It seemed they were already too late. 

“Get off!” Lusamine shouted and shoved Lillie roughly off her. 

“Mother, you can’t do this!” Lillie cried. 

“That’s enough, girly,” Guzma said, lifting Lillie like she was nothing but a paper doll. A Vikavolt hovered next to him, large enough to mount. Every beat of her wings sent sparks of static electricity jumping over her hairy carapace. 

“Hey, let her go!” Hau came in sprinting, but Vikavolt swooped to intercept him.

Passimian screeched and threw Togedemaru at Vikavolt just as the Bug powered up a Thunderbolt. The two Electric Pokémon collided in a dazzling explosion of Spikes and lightning. Hau threw a punch at Guzma, who lost control of Lillie and swerved. Hau, remarkably graceful, twisted and kneed Guzma hard in the kidney. Guzma cursed and fell, gagging. Lillie scrambled to her feet and released Bewear, but Lusamine had her Clefable and a bigger, meatier Bewear to protect her. 

“Hau!” Selene shouted. 

All eyes turned to the newcomers, and Lusamine locked eyes with Gladion. Despite himself, he shivered at meeting her wintry gaze for the first time in three years. It lasted only a moment, but that was all she needed to convey her deep disgust and disappointment in him. For a maddening second, Gladion was even disgusted with himself, knowing what she must think of him. Three years and nothing had changed at all.

“Gladion, come on!” Selene said, already leaving Plumeria and him behind to run toward the center of the action with Toxapex, Silvally, and the three Null. Lei Fan and Blue Barney were quick to follow.

“Go,” Plumeria said, hissing as she clutched her side and spat blood. “I’ll be fine here.”

Gladion had no choice. He set Plumeria down and ran after Selene. He ripped his sling off and gritted his teeth to the weight of his broken arm, but he ran faster without it. Next to the shimmering Ultra Mirror, he spotted a glass canister holding Nebby, who roiled within like she was trying to escape indescribable pain. 

“Golbat! Get Nebby!” Gladion shouted, throwing his last Pokéball. 

Golbat took to the skies, tongue lolling, and swooped low. Unfortunately, Guzma was back on his feet and shouted for Vikavolt. “Not a chance, boy! Thunderbolt!”

Golbat swerved in fright to avoid the deadly lightning, and the two Flyers began chasing each other around the arboretum, throwing poison and lighting between them like a deadly game of ping pong. 

“Shit.” Gladion looked around and saw Selene and Lei Fan working together to take out a couple of Aether security guards and their Pokémon, while Silvally was leading the three Null in a charge against a small army of Skull thugs Guzma had brought in for extra muscle. The Ultra Mirror was activated, its center rippling with strange power. Nebby’s power. Hau and Lillie were busy dealing with Lusamine’s Pokémon, while Lusamine herself stood before the Ultra Mirror, waiting for something. 

“Selene!” Gladion shouted. “We have to get Nebby!”

She looked up where she stood over the body of an Aether security guard and his Gumshoos that Toxapex had knocked down. Gladion pointed at the Ultra Mirror, and she followed his gaze. But just then, the Ultra Mirror gave off another horrific blast of freezing energy, knocking down Lusamine, Guzma, Lillie, and the various Pokémon and Skull thugs closest to it. 

“I think I have a better idea!” Selene said, shielding her face as she searched the dark sky beyond the glass dome ceiling. 

The glass shattered, and a hail of shadowy feathers as sharp as arrows rained down. They rotted the trees and blackened the pond waters where they made contact. An enemy Alolan Graveler took a few spectral arrows in its back and went down, his thick hide crumbling and smoking white. Decidueye came crashing through the hole he had cut in the glass and made a beeline for Selene. 

“Decidueye! Destroy the Ultra Mirror!” Selene commanded. 

Decidueye opened his beak in a ghastly hiss and flew to do her bidding. 

Lusamine, however, was not about to let anything interfere with her goal and threw out two more Pokéballs. Lilligant and Absol appeared before her. “Protect the Ultra Mirror! Stop that Decidueye!” 

Absol took off running, impossibly fast, and launched high into the air with a Night Slash. Decidueye swooped in a barrel roll and, unafraid, came in hard with a Leaf Blade. Absol parried the attack with her wicked horn, and the two crashed together like opposing swords. Lilligant fired up a Petal Blizzard attack that drew in everyone closest to her, including Hau and Lillie. 

“Ahh!” Lillie cried out as the razor-sharp petals cut into her skin. 

It was chaos, a total mess, and no matter what they threw at her, Lusamine seemed to be one step ahead of them. Gladion’s heart sank when he saw a fresh wave of Aether security guards pour through a back entrance, many of them brandishing Pokéballs and beater sticks. This wasn’t working, and every second they lost was another second closer to irreversible damage to both Nebby and their entire plane of existence. 

Gladion was running before he could really think about what he was doing. All he knew was that he had to stop this before it was too late. An Aether security guard intercepted him, bat in hand and a Poliwhirl to back him up. Gladion fell to avoid the bat, but Poliwhirl blasted him with a super-powered Water Gun jet, and he went flying. Something hard and warm broke his fall and knocked the wind out of him. 

“Get up!” Selene grabbed him with her healing hand and pulled him off Silvally, who had broken his fall. The bear claw Null was at his side, bloodied but snarling at Poliwhirl. 

Gladion twisted around with Selene in his arms so that his back was to Silvally. “Silvally, clear a path!”

Silvally roared and beat the floor with his talons. His poisoned mane ruffled ominously, and he fired off a violet energy bolt that zigzagged through Poliwhirl, the Aether security guard, and a few other Aether and Skull goons and their Pokémon. The poisoned energy blast struckLilligant’s Light Screen, shattered the wondrous wall of light, and exploded with a noxious rain. 

“Holy shit,” Selene said, awestruck. 

“Less fangirling, more running,” Gladion said, bolting along the newly cleared path to the Ultra Mirror. Silvally was hot on their heels. 

Their mad dash was interrupted by Decidueye. Absol had knocked him out of the sky with a Night Slash that opened him from navel to nose, but he bled only shadows and dead leaves. Already blackened vines knitted his corpse body back together, but the damage was done and Decidueye hissed, grounded with his wings spread. Selene yanked Gladion back before they could crash into Decidueye, and they skidded to a stop. Absol jumped and readied another Night Slash. 

But just then, Golbat and Vikavolt crash-landed together into Absol, and the three of them went tumbling. A computer bank stopped them, and Vikavolt’s static shattered screens and short-circuited the equipment. Gladion and Selene followed the static along the network of wires and cords across the arboretum, where they connected to the Ultra Mirror. With no time to think, Gladion pulled Selene flush against him and lunged with all his might behind a nearby tree just as the Ultra Mirror short-circuited. 

People and Pokémon screamed, and Gladion squeezed his eyes shut as he held onto Selene like their lives depended on it. Something landed on top of them, heavy but not crushing, and for a few seconds the world was muffled and underwater. The putrid smell of rotting leaves and meat made Gladion gag, and Selene struggled beneath him to sit up. He put pressure on his cast by mistake and cried out in pain. 

“Gladion,” Selene said. 

In their mad dash, she’d sunk her poisoned nails into his cast, but the plaster had protected him from her. With her healing hand, she grasped his good arm and supported his weight. He’d collapsed against her, the pain in his broken arm blinding. 

“I’m okay,” he said through gritted teeth. “You?”

She nodded, eyes wide like she didn’t quite recognize him, and then looked over his shoulder. “Decidueye covered us.”

That explained the smell. The undead owl had shielded them from the static burst that swept through the arboretum when the Ultra Mirror short-circuited. Some of his feathers smoked with static burns, but he didn’t appear to be too bothered. He tucked away his great wings, and Selene rolled Gladion and herself over in a tangle of limbs. 

“Ah!” Selene clutched her middle and winced. 

“C’mon, I’ve got you.” Gladion looped his good arm around her waist and helped her stand, while Decidueye hovered over them protectively.

“Gladion, your head.”

She touched his cheek, and her blanched fingers came away bloody. He hadn’t even realized he was bleeding. 

“Just a scratch. I’m fine.”

He was pretty sure he wasn’t fine. His head was starting to spin, and she was heavy against him. But he swallowed it and forced himself to stand upright and look around. 

The Ultra Mirror’s power was cut, and it had fallen dark. Nebby’s container was dark. All around, people groaned in pain—those that had survived. To Gladion’s relief, Hau and Lillie shakily got to their feet. Her Bewear had protected them from the worst of the blast. Unfortunately, Guzma and Lusamine were also still standing thanks to Clefable’s timely Protect shield. Vikavolt’s carcass lay broken and unmoving among the trashed computers, charred almost beyond recognition, but Absol and Golbat still struggled. Gladion fumbled for Golbat’s Pokéball, but his plastered arm felt like it was on fire. 

“Damnit,” he swore.

“This one?” Selene grabbed Golbat’s Pokéball out of Gladion’s pocket and pointed it at Golbat. He disappeared inside in a flash of red. 

“Thanks.”

“You think it’s over?” 

Gladion was about to respond to that when all of a sudden, the Ultra Mirror sparkled to life anew, even brighter than it had been before despite the total loss of power.

“No fucking way,” he said. 

“Nebby,” Selene said, struggling to support more of her own weight against him. 

“It’s working!” Lusamine said as she stood before the Ultra Mirror, arms outstretched. “The portal is open!”

Gladion could not believe what he was seeing. Somehow, beyond the rippling Ultra Mirror, there lay an exact replica of the arboretum, except instead of pristine white tiles and leafy trees, there was only darkness and rot. And within it, something reached back. 

“Mother!” Lillie screamed. 

“What the hell is that?” Guzma said, using Golisopod's support to help him stand. 

Pale fronds snaked through the Ultra Mirror like searching fingers. They were followed by an inflated head without eyes. Not inflated, Gladion saw now, but solid, like crystal. More of the creature emerged, and it assumed a roughly humanoid shape, like a little girl with long hair. It reached for Lusamine. 

“It’s you…” she said, almost a question. 

In her distraction, Hau and Lillie made a dash for Nebby still trapped in her canister. But Guzma and Golisopod were there to stop them with a vicious Slash attack. Lillie screamed, but Passimian recklessly rammed Golisopod before he could cut Hau and Lillie in half. 

Gladion snapped out of it. “Hau! Get Nebby!”

He was way ahead of Gladion and already pounding on the container with a bat he’d found, but the glass was tough and wouldn’t break. Lillie, meanwhile, was making a break for Lusamine. 

“Mother, stop! You can’t!”

But Lusamine didn’t hear her, and her fingers touched the pale creature’s. Like tentacles, the milky fronds wrapped around her wrist and lifted her off the ground. “Yes, take me to him,” she said in a dream-like voice.

“Lu!” Guzma shouted. 

Gladion looked around and spotted Silvally with the three Null. The gold plated Null was on the ground with a broken leg, and the bear claw Null was passed out, unresponsive. “Silvally! Kill it!”

Silvally howled and took off running, the mermaid tail Null right behind him. Guzma was also running, reaching for Lusamine, and Hau continued to pound on Nebby’s container. The glass cracked. 

“Come on!” Hau said, desperate. “Just break!”

Lillie reached Lusamine before Guzma and grabbed her ankle. “Mother, don’t! You’ll die in there!”

But Lusamine ignored her. Perhaps she didn’t even hear her—she was so focused on the pale beast that was slowly sucking her in. The creature pulled her close and tightened its hold. 

Silvally and the mermaid tail Null leaped together, and the beast shrieked and fluttered its crystalline fronds. Sticky tar shot like bullets from the ends and hit Null’s helmet, burning through it. She yelped and twisted to avoid the pain, and her powerful tail smacked Lillie hard enough to break her hold on Lusamine. Silvally was unaffected by the poison and snapped at the beast, spooking it back toward the Ultra Mirror. He bit a chunk of its fronds and ripped them off. The beast screamed, eerily human in its pitch, but it only tightened its hold on Lusamine. 

“No!” Lillie said. 

“I got it!” Hau said, breaking away thick pieces of glass and metal from Nebby’s cage. He reached in to pull her out. 

“Lu, wait!” Guzma made one final push and jumped after her just as Hau freed Nebby. 

Just as soon as Nebby was free, the Ultra Mirror pulsed with invisible energy. The intense shockwave swept over the arboretum, shattered the windows, and raced across the sea in every direction outward. The Ultra Mirror itself fell dark, taking with it every trace of Lusamine, Guzma, and the otherworldly creature. 

“Oh my god,” Selene said. 

Gladion was still staring at the empty ring, unable to get the image of his mother sucked up by that Ultra Beast out of his head. One minute she was there, and the next she just…

The backup generators flared to life and cast the arboretum in a harsh yellow light. People and Pokémon picked themselves up, and Selene picked Gladion up. 

“Hau! Lillie!” Selene was shouting as they shuffled along. 

Lillie was bawling her eyes out as Bewear hunched over her, his fur smoking with electrical burns.

“Lillie,” Gladion said when he and Selene finally made it. 

She took one look at Selene and him and threw herself at them both. 

“Oh my goodness,” she wailed. “I-I can’t believe it! I just—I can’t!”

Gladion had no words for her, for any of them. Instinct told him he needed to be strong for Lillie, because that was what big brothers were supposed to do. The knight was meant to protect and shield the princess, and for all their lives Lillie had been his princess. But Gladion felt anything but strong right now, defeated, everything he’d tried to avoid already done, and there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was let Lillie cry her broken heart out for the mother who had met the same gruesome fate as their father before her. 

“Guys,” Hau said, his voice shaky. “ _Guys_!”

“Hau, what is it?” Selene said, separating from Gladion and Lillie to go to him. 

“It’s Nebby. I-I think something happened to her!”

Gladion ran his mottled fingers through Lillie’s long hair to soothe her. Lillie sniffled and wiped her eyes, and together they all leaned over the small creature that had brought them all together. 

“Nebby?” Lillie said. “W-What happened to her?”

It wasn’t Nebby Hau held in his hands, but a much smaller creature plated in gold. Within, Nebby’s starry heart swirled like a hurricane, trapped in a new body. 

“I think,” Selene said, tentative, “Nebby must have evolved?”

“What does that mean?” Lillie looked to Gladion for answers. “She’s not a normal Pokémon! She’s not even from this world.”

Gladion shook his head. “I don’t know.” He remembered the strange shockwave that followed when Hau separated Nebby from the Ultra Mirror and swallowed the knot in his throat. Selene was looking right at him, and the worry in her eyes told him she was thinking the same thing. “But something tells me it can’t be good.”

* * *

 

Gary lost track of Ivy and Samson in the crowd. Only Pikachu sat with him on a lonely bench as he nursed a drink he didn’t really need. The longer he sat there, the worse he felt. 

_I shouldn’t have said those things to him._

But even knowing he had gone too far, he could not let go of his anger. Pikachu sneezed, and his hair stood on end, but Gary couldn’t be bothered to care much. He petted her absently as she settle on his lap like an old cat. Big, brown eyes looked up at him, tired. 

“What?” 

Pikachu was silent. In fact, she’d been mostly silent since he’d met her, unlike Ash’s and Lily’s Pikachu who were always annoyingly chittering away, full of energy. 

“What’re you so down about all the time?” he wondered as he scratched her ears. 

Her only response was to press her cold nose to his palm and stay there. Maybe all the noise was disturbing her. It disturbed him, too. Too many people, too much talk, too many drinks. Gary leaned back against the back of the bench. 

_I should apologize._

As angry as he was with Samson’s lackadaisical attitude, it didn’t merit such vitriol and cruelty. He ran a hand through his hair to snuff out the trace static electricity giving it volume. 

“Come on, Pikachu,” he said, scooping her up in his arms. “Wallowing won’t solve anything.”

Pikachu clung to his shoulder like a child, and her ears perked up. Maybe Ivy was right—she just needed a little attention to make her feel better. Gary rubbed her back as he made his way through the crowd in search of Samson. 

It didn’t take long to find him seated on a sofa with Ivy. They were talking and looking at Ivy’s Pokédex together, but fell quiet when Gary approached. 

“Look, before you say anything, I owe you an apology,” Gary said. “Both of you.”

“Yeah, you do,” Ivy said. 

Samson said nothing. 

“Uncle Samson, please, I’m… I really shouldn’t have said those things. I was wrong.”

“It’s all right. I understand how much you miss him.” He sighed and rubbed his chin. “I miss him, too.”

“Uncle Samson was telling me about how he helped out with the Pokédex project,” Ivy said. “He’s been researching and cataloguing all the Pokémon native to Alola, including the variants. He came out of retirement six years ago for it.”

And six years ago Samuel Oak had died, murdered by Team Rocket. Ivy didn’t have to say anything more for him to guess the rest. 

“You…did it for Gramps?”

Samson looked at his clasped hands self-consciously. “You’re not wrong about me. I’ve always been a…bit of a fallen leaf from the Oak family tree. I did well enough for myself, but I never had what Sammy had. Sometimes I like to think it’s my Alolan blood. The island life is lazy and peaceful. But it’s only an excuse.” He wrung his hands like he didn’t quite know what to do with them. 

“I visited you once, when you were just a little one. Your grandmother was still alive. She always liked me, said I was a calming influence on Sammy. You won’t remember, it was so long ago, but…” He shook his head, lost in a memory. “Anyway, I think I always resented Sammy for what he had, what he’d achieved. He was the better man by a half, and I suppose that’s a hard pill to swallow no matter how many years and miles I put between us. 

“And then, six years ago, I received a letter from him out of the blue. He was in Rustboro City working on dismantling some complicated EM wave device, I think. We hadn’t spoken in years, but something compelled him to reach out, almost as if…”

_As if he knew his end was near._

Oak had been as Clairvoyant as any Psychic and saw strange visions in his dreams. Gary clutched Pikachu a little tighter, but he could not find any words to say to that. 

“We wasted so much time,” Samson said, more to himself than to Gary. “All those years, all these miles apart, every missed opportunity.” He sighed again, and anyone else may have shed a tear in that moment, but Samson’s eyes were dry as a bone. “I started going to mahjong tournaments as a means to travel between the islands. The better to encounter different Pokémon species and study them. There’s still so much work to be done.” He smiled sadly. “But I have a season pass to next year’s championships—tournaments on every island. Little by little, as they say. Perhaps there’s a bit of Oak blood in me, after all…”

Ivy laid a gentle hand on Samson’s shoulder. “Uncle Samson was telling me that he spent the day with some waste management professionals outside the city. They work with a lot of Alolan Grimer and Muk to process the metric crap-ton of trash that comes out of Malie every day.” She showed Gary the entry for Alolan Grimer on her Pokédex. “Those teeth? Super-toxic crystals that are basically like little nuclear stink bombs. That’s why the Pokémon itself doesn’t stink—at least, that’s the working theory, right, Uncle Samson?”

Samson rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, for now. I’ll need to observe them some more.”

Gary felt shitty before coming over here to apologize, but now he felt like he’d swallowed a Grimer toxic crystal and it had exploded inside him. Samson had never said a goddamned word. 

“You just let me believe… But why? Why not just say what you were really doing?” Gary asked. 

“Shame, I suppose. Regret, for waiting so long. For not doing more.” He looked up at Gary. “For letting the years and the miles pass from him to you.”

Gary fought very hard not to let fall the tears he could feel forming. Pikachu pressed her cold nose to his cheek. Samson smiled, and for a moment he looked so much like Oak that it was too much. Gary sank into the chair opposite him and pressed the heel of his palm into his eyes, willing the tears back inside. But it was already too late. Pikachu licked his wet cheek affectionately. 

“Damnit,” Gary said, unable to think of anything else. 

“Gary,” Ivy said, but Samson bade her stay seated and wait. 

It took Gary a couple minutes to catch his breath and control himself. “I wish you would have reached out.”

_I wish you would have been there when he no longer was._

“I wish I had been brave enough,” Samson said.

Gary wiped his damp cheek. “You are. You told me the truth.”

Samson flushed and merely nodded. “I suppose it’s a start.”

“Speaking of a start,” Ivy said, uncharacteristically gentle, “I think we’ll have to find ours with Professor Burnet, after all. She’s really the only one who knows about these Ultra Beasts, apparently.”

“Ultra Beasts?”

Samson sobered. “Those strange entries in the Pokédex you were asking about. I was being truthful when I said I didn’t know anything about them. I know only that they’re called Ultra Beasts, and that there’s a very good chance they’re not natural Pokémon.”

Gary leaned forward in his chair. “Not natural? What does that mean?”

“In the last six years, I’ve spent most of my time traveling Alola and studying the native Pokémon, as you know. I have never heard of Pokemon like the ones in those strange entries, let alone encountered one. I’m afraid they’re as much a mystery to me as to you.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Gary said. 

“But I do know quite a bit about Isla’s story.”

Samson told Gary and Ivy about meeting Burnet years ago at an academic conference in Unova at the University of Castelia. She’d been bright and energetic, the perfect candidate for a Ph.D. immersion abroad to complete her dissertation. It had been Samson who put her in touch with a brilliant astrophysicist at the Aether Foundation, Mohn, who ended up mentoring her as she finished her studies. She was employed with Aether for a few years until Mohn’s sudden and tragic death, at which point she left, sought out Samson, and they entered into a joint venture to found the Observatory and its associated labs. The Ultra Mirror, technology she’d brought with her from Aether, was entirely her domain and kept secret, even from Samson and other top brass at the lab. 

“We have to get her to spill the Pokébeans on that Ultra Mirror,” Ivy said. “Obviously, it’s all connected somehow. And don’t you look at me like that, Gary. I _know_ a conspiracy when I see one. Remember our first date in Viridian?”

Gary shot her a look. “You mean, when you used me as a prop to grift those Rocket Agents and rob them?”

“And you fell desperately in love with me from that day on.”

_Desperately in over my head, maybe._

If he was being honest, Ivy had always made him a little desperate from the moment they’d met. Falling in love with her was simply the process of recognizing that as one of her best qualities—most days.

“The point is, we absolutely have to get Professor Burnet to tell us what’s up,” Ivy said. “Uncle Samson, we’re going to need your help. She threw us out last time, but I think she’d listen to you, right?”

“Isla isn’t one to be strong-armed,” Samson warned them. “But I’m troubled by what’s happened with Aether. I’ve met Lusamine on several occasions. Mohn was her husband, and his death understandably changed her. But kidnapping? Street gang violence? I suppose it couldn’t hurt to get Isla’s take on things.”

Gary thought about that, but before he could respond, the whole garden full of people erupted in surprised gasps and shouts as an invisible wave of _something_ swept through. Glass shattered and hanging lamps burst. The glass in Ivy’s hand popped and spilled the remains of her drink all over the floor. The shockwave gave no warning and left a trail of broken bulbs and glassware. 

Pikachu, however, was suddenly on her feet and sparking, little teeth bared and ready for a fight like she’d gotten a whiff of something truly vile. Gary had never seen her so alert and ready. 

“What the hell was that?” Ivy demanded. 

The mahjong guests all seemed to have the same question as they fussed at each other and looked around for further signs of danger, but there were none. 

“A strong shockwave,” Samson said, a hand on his chest and a little out of breath. “How strange…”

Ivy looked grim. “Gary, did you notice anything?”

He shook his head. “No, nothing Psychic about it.” Although he couldn’t imagine what other power could cause an invisible wave of telekinetic energy to shudder this far and this fast. There was no telling even where it had come from. Pikachu soon calmed down and plopped down on her butt with a yawn. Gary scooped her up. 

“Well, whatever it was, it gave me the creeps.”

“Yeah.” Pikachu buried her face in Gary’s shoulder, perhaps a bit creeped out herself. “Me, too.”

* * *

 

Selene lay in a hospital bed staring up at the ceiling and trying not to think about how much pain she was in. Wicke had called the Heahea Police Department and reported what was happening at Aether Paradise after she’d freed Lillie with Hau’s help. From there, it was mere hours before Kukui and Burnet showed up with the police to take control of Aether Paradise. Before they arrived Plumeria had absconded with the remaining Team Skull members, including the group that had been instrumental in helping Selene go after Lillie and Nebby, but not before she promised Gladion that Team Skull would not rest until Guzma was found.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Plumeria had said as Hani cradled her in his big hands like a doll. There was a fierce fury in her dark eyes as she fought to stay conscious despite her injuries. “But we’ll face it together. I’ll be in touch.”

Selene had watched Sweet Dreams Danny drive the speedboat she’d arrived in back to Akala Island, this time with Plumeria and the mermaid tail Null aboard. There was no one Gladion trusted with her safety more than Plumeria. The other two, too injured to walk, were quietly captured in brand new Ultra Balls, and Wicke passed them along to Gladion to take away from Aether Paradise. At least this way, none of them would be found by the police and taken to some government facility for further experimentation. Outcasts only had each other to watch their backs. 

Selene felt like a bit of an outcast herself alone in her hospital room. Even her Pokémon were not with her as they recovered separately at the Pokémon Center. Those who had not suffered grievous injury, including Hau and Lillie, were taken to the police station for questioning and to give their accounts of what had transpired. Kukui had been by to check up on Selene, but she was in and out of consciousness due to all the drugs the doctors had her on. Something about internal bleeding, multiple fractures, and other nasty things that hurt her head to think about. A pearlescent Super Potion dripped slowly through an IV in her blanched arm. 

Wincing, she sat up in her bed and slowly got to her feet. Her middle was wrapped tightly in bandages, as if her internal organs had all lost their shape and needed the extra pressure to stay in their places. A few suctioned wires were pressed to her skin to monitor her vitals, but she ripped them off and dragged the IV stand along with her to the door. Her thoughts were on Decidueye. Surely he was close by watching over her. With her mother far away on Melemele Island and Hau and Kukui probably with the police, Selene wanted to know someone, at least, was thinking about her. 

The hospital hall was mostly empty with only a few orderlies and nurses making their quiet rounds. The exciting stuff must be happening in another wing, Selene thought. She stepped lightly so as not to disturb the sleeping and the drugged. 

A couple doors down, she recognized the room number and poked her head in. Mallow was sound asleep in her bed, still recovering from her injuries during the beach skirmish. Comfey sat in a bowl of water next to her head, and a few colorful flowers adorned Mallow’s head and back. Two people stood over her dressed in formal street clothes. 

Selene stared rudely. The man had to be one of the most handsome men she had ever laid eyes on. Ocean blue eyes alighted on her, and his companion, a smoldering redhead, frowned at Selene. 

“Sorry,” Selene said automatically. “I didn’t know Mallow had visitors.”

The man’s eyes immediately fell to Selene’s poisonous hand, but he did not so much as blink. The woman also looked, but it was not the look of disgust Selene was so used to seeing. Perhaps unconsciously, she laid a hand on Mallow’s bed in what Selene could only interpret as a protective gesture. 

The man smiled dashingly. “Are you Mallow’s friend? Please, come in. We were just on our way out.”

Selene slowly entered the room, self-conscious in her ill-fitting hospital sweats. She gave the couple a wide berth. “Sort of. We met recently. She helped us fight off Team Skull the other day.”

“I see. I had heard there was a whole group involved,” the man said. “It was a kidnapping, right? Did you recover the poor girl?”

Selene tightened her grip on the IV stand. “Not that day, but yeah. I was coming to tell Mallow.”

“Well, she’s been asleep for a little while, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to know her efforts weren’t in vain when she wakes up.”

The woman still had not said a single word, but she continued to watch Selene. Her eyes were a bloody shade of red, unnerving. 

“How do you know Mallow?” Selene asked. 

“She’s my apprentice,” the man answered. “We own a little restaurant downtown.”

“ _Narcisse_ , right, I remember she mentioned she worked there.” Selene looked between the two of them. “I guess you must be really invested in her training if you’d come to visit her in the hospital.”

“We are,” the woman said. 

Selene wasn’t sure why, but something about these two gave her an unpleasant chill, as if she were looking into the mouth of a great, dark cave. _This way lies danger_ , sounded an invisible warning she could neither shake nor explain. But danger for whom? 

They passed her on their way out. 

“If she wakes up while you’re here, please let her know Siebold and Malva came to see her.” Siebold flashed her another dashingly enigmatic smile, and with that they left Selene alone with Mallow. 

As soon as they left the room, Selene repressed a shiver. Mallow, lying face-down so as not to disturb her grievous wounds, was sound asleep. One look at the Burn Heal dripping through her IV told Selene all she needed to know. 

“Maybe you should just stay asleep,” she said. “Things aren’t exactly great out here.”

Comfey blinked up at Selene, but shied in her bowl when Selene reached out a hand. She clenched her poisoned fingers, feeling silly. Of course a Fairy would recoil from her, of all the things. Even so, Selene felt her mood sour and turned to leave. She could always come back later and see if Mallow was awake. 

Each step sent a jolt of pain through Selene’s middle, but she treaded lightly back to her room, hoping at least to catch a glimpse of Decidueye from the window if he was around. When she let herself in, someone was already waiting for her. 

“Gladion? What’re you doing here?”

Gladion sported a new cast and sling, thick bandages around his head, and hospital sweats. “Looking for you, obviously,” he said a little defensively. 

Selene frowned. “I went to check on Mallow. She’s drugged out.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

He eyed her IV stand like the sight of it angered him. “You heard from the professor or anyone?”

Selene shook her head. “No. I think they’re all still with the police. You?”

“Me neither.” He shifted his weight, agitated. “I can’t stand just waiting around here.”

She couldn’t blame him, she supposed. Carefully, Selene made her way back to her bed. She felt his eyes on her as she stepped gingerly and caught her breath. He surprised her by taking her healing hand and helping her sit on the bed. 

“Thanks,” she said. 

He took a seat on the bed next to her, and together they stared out the window at the darkling sky. Soon a nurse would be around with dinner, and maybe some news. Selene hoped so. She was dying for an update on Nebby, the Ultra Mirror, and what was going to happen now that Lusamine and Guzma had been literally sucked into an alternate dimension. What was the protocol for something like this? Would the police have any idea where to begin at all? Would they even believe it without seeing it with their own eyes?

“Hey,” Selene said at length, studying his profile. “I’m sorry about Lusamine and Guzma.”

Gladion set his jaw. “She knew what she was messing with.”

“She’s still your mom. You and Lillie… Whatever she did, you didn’t deserve to go through that. I’m really sorry.”

Gladion blinked, but he stared resolutely out the window, like it was all he could do to stop the tears from falling. “Yeah.”

Silence stretched between them, but it didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable for once. In the grand scheme of things, they were all but strangers whose lives had collided in the most unexpected and violent way possible. And yet, Selene felt like they’d been to the ends of the world and back. She smiled. Funny how a little thing like risking one’s life for someone could change so much. Gladion, and Lillie too, even Mallow and the sacrifices she’d made—they were a part of Selene now, sunk deep, and she wasn’t sure if she’d ever separate from them. She wasn’t sure there was a point anymore. 

“Selene,” Gladion said. 

He was looking right at her now. This close, she saw little veins of green in his grey eyes, cracks in his armor.

“Yeah?”

“I wanted…” He fisted his shirt as he searched for the right words. “What you did for Silvally and…and for me.” He averted his gaze, embarrassed. “No one’s ever, you know…for me.”

She looked at him, the flush of embarrassment, the nervous wringing, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the familiarity. She immediately regretted it when her middle flared with pain. 

“What?” he demanded, blushing even harder.

“Sorry, I’m not laughing at you.” She hissed and clutched her midsection. “You just looked so much like your sister for a minute.” She opened an eye to look up at him as the pain subsided a little and gestured with her poisoned hand. “Never would’ve thought I’d actually be _saving_ lives.”

Gladion’s expression fell, carefully blank, and suddenly he wasn’t the embarrassed kid tripping over his words, but someone else entirely. He took her poisoned hand in his, drew it to his lips, and kissed her knuckles. Selene stared, open-mouthed and a little afraid—of him, of herself, of how they had ended up here. 

“Thank you for saving us,” he whispered against her fingers. 

After a long moment, he let her go. Selene’s neck and cheeks were hot with a scarlet flush, and her breaths were short and shallow. No one had ever touched her the way Gladion just had, with honest reverence and gratitude. It was so simple, so intimate, and it completely unraveled her in a way she had never thought possible. 

“Knock knock! I have your dinner, Selene!” said a cheerful orderly at the door. “Oh, young man, you shouldn’t be in here. You both need your rest, you know.”

Gladion slipped off the bed as the orderly let himself in. “I was just leaving.”

Selene was still in shock and struggling to get her breathing under control when Gladion opened the door to leave. 

“Wait!” she blurted out. 

He glanced back at her, waiting. 

“I-I mean…” She bit her lip self-consciously. “Thank you. You…saved me, too.”

He held her gaze, and when she was sure he would simply leave without a word, he smiled faintly. “Night, Selene.”

When he was gone, the orderly set a dinner tray on a rolling table. “Are you all right, hon?” he asked, concerned. “You’re awfully red.”

“Fine! I’m super fine,” Selene said. “Super duper fine.”

The orderly looked at her strangely. “Well, all right. But you need to rest. No late night visits, okay? Now, eat up. You’ll need your strength for the Max Potion drip the doctor’s got you on overnight.”

* * *

 

Selene and Gladion were released from the hospital the next day. She’d woken up with a splitting headache, but after some food and a few turns around the room, the ache subsided and with it the pain from her internal injuries. Apparently, she had Kukui to thank for the Max Potion treatment that was as close to a miracle worker as modern science could get—and with a price tag commensurate with its potency. Time was of the essence these days, and she needed to be back to normal as soon as possible.

Selene was surprised to see Gladion waiting for her in the lobby, cast and sling gone and replaced with a light brace. Hau was with him. 

“Selene, howzit!” Hau practically threw himself at Selene when she emerged wearing the change of clothes he’d brought by for her. “You look so much better!”

“I’m feeling so much better,” she said. 

“Awesome. Decidueye’s gonna be happy to see you. He’s been roostin’ on the hospital roof. Saw him this morning when I came by.”

“If you two are done, let’s go already,” Gladion said. “Every minute we waste here is another minute Lusamine and Guzma lose.”

Selene tried to meet his gaze, but he was glowering at the wall. He was tense and looked ready to snap at any minute. She felt like she should say something, but what could she say to make him feel better? What could possibly lift his spirits when he’d watched his mother and the man who’d sheltered him for the last three years be abducted by a dangerous creature to another dimension that had claimed his father’s life? She held her tongue and averted her gaze.

Hau grinned brightly. “Sure thing! Lead the way, yeah?”

Gladion scowled. “Whatever.”

They left the hospital together and headed for the Observatory, where Burnet was keeping Silvally, the bear claw Null, and the gold plated Null for recovery to avoid any unnecessary questions from the Pokémon Center’s doctors. 

“So you just gave Silvally and those other Null to Professor Burnet?” Hau asked. “I mean, I know they’re not, ya know, your everyday kinda Pokémon, but the PMC’s the best place for ‘em if they’re hurt, isn’t it?”

“She’s got a lab, doesn’t she? Same difference, and no questions.”

“I mean, sure, but her lab’s, like, an observatory. It’s _kinda_ different.”

“I _kinda_ don’t give a shit. No way I’m leaving those Null with a bunch of strangers I don’t trust.”

Hau’s expression softened. “Well, when you put it that way, I think it’s a good idea. Way to go!”

Gladion rolled his eyes. “You’re so infuriating.”

“Just tryna lighten the mood a little.”

“Well, don’t.”

Selene felt a little bad for Hau. Gladion was not as easy to please as Lillie, or even herself, not that Selene could blame him after everything that had happened. But Hau was nothing if not determined.

Hau grinned deviously and slung an arm around Gladion’s shoulder. “Ya know, you can’t spell ‘Gladion’ without ‘glad.’ Perk up, buttercup.”

Gladion roughly shrugged him off, but Hau danced around him and yanked his arm back to spin him like a ballerina, laughing. “That really the best Team Skull’s enforcer can do?”

“Hold still and I’ll enforce my fist in your face!” Gladion said, unable to hide his embarrassment at Hau literally dancing circles around him.

“Catch me if you can, Slowpoke!” Hau taunted, darting away. 

He laughed like he was having the time of his life, and Gladion sprinted after him. 

“I’ll give you something to laugh about!”

“What the—seriously?!” Selene shouted after them. 

People they passed on the sidewalk gave them odd looks, and Selene unconsciously clasped her hands to hide them, but for once she was not the draw on their attention. Hau swung around a lamppost, and Gladion pounded after him, a bulldozer chasing a butterfly. When Gladion deftly leaped over a mailbox, Hau yelped in surprise.

“I didn’t know you could do that!”

Gladion bared his teeth in a triumphant grin. “Come here and I’ll show you my technique!”

Hau tried to dance out of reach. Gladion followed, and Selene saw the danger before either of them did. 

“Look out!” she shouted in vain.

“Whoa!” Hau tripped to avoid crashing into the young couple walking a Lillipup. 

Gladion was right on top of him, however, and when he collided with Hau, they brought the husband and wife down with them in a tangle of limbs. The wife squawked, Lillipup barked excitedly, and the husband began shouting obscenities at Hau and Gladion roughhousing in the streets like a couple of hooligans. 

“Oh shit,” Selene said, sorely tempted to walk on by and pretend like she didn’t know the two asshats running around knocking pedestrians over like a couple of rabid circus performers. 

“Sorry!” Hau said, hastily springing to his feet and yanking Gladion up after him. “Didn’t see ya there, cos! Uh, gotta run!”

Gladion almost tripped and brought them both down again, but the husband’s threat of violence and police involvement spurred him on, and soon the pair of them were sprinting down the street—right for Selene. 

“Incoming!” Hau said. 

Gladion reached out and grabbed Selene’s healing hand without slowing, and the three of them dashed in a manic conga line across the street and around the corner. The husband’s shouts died behind them, and Selene was panting as she clutched Gladion’s hand, the wind in her face. Hau led them to the end of the next block and, satisfied they’d outrun the law this time, released Gladion and doubled over laughing. 

“Oh man! That was too close!” he said in between laughs. 

Gladion was red in the face. “How can you be laughing right now, you damn idiot?!”

“Dude, your face! _His_ face! Man, that guy was seriously peeved! I can’t believe you crashed into him. Selene, you saw it, right? Wait, wait, who am I?” Hau donned his best sour face and jumped spread-eagle a couple feet while shouting in a deep voice, “Look at my technique!”

It was such an absurd sight between Gladion’s horrified scowl and Hau’s caricatured impression of said scowl, that Selene could not help but laugh. She covered her mouth when Gladion whirled on her, stunned at her betrayal, but that only set her over the edge and made her laugh harder. Hau grinned like a goof and burst out laughing, too. 

“That’s _not_ what I sound like,” Gladion protested feebly. 

Selene had tears in her eyes, and Hau was on his knees on the sidewalk clutching his middle. 

“Gladion, you—” Selene choked on her laughter and wiped her tears, unable to control herself. Once she got started, there was no stopping. 

Gladion stared at her like he didn’t quite recognize her. 

“I’m sor—sorry,” Selene wheezed, shaking with laughter. 

The longer he watched them both laughing hysterically, the harder it became to hold on to his annoyance. His expression gradually softened and he rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. Hau sprung up and slung and arm each about Selene and Gladion, knocking their heads together. 

“Man, nothin’ like a good laugh to start the day, yeah?”

“Whatever,” Gladion said. 

He did his best to bite back a smile, but Selene noticed. 

“Thanks, Hau,” Selene said. 

He winked at her knowingly. “Hey look! We made it in record time ’n everything!”

Sure enough, in their mad dash, they’d sprinted the rest of the way to the Observatory without even realizing it. Hau let them go, and together they headed inside.

The elevator dumped them out on the top floor, where Hau led the way to a small conference room overlooking the typically crowded Pelipper Avenue. Burnet and Kukui were in the middle of what looked like a very serious conversation with a very beautiful, very muscular woman. Gary was with an old man in a lab coat who bore a resemblance to him only blood relation could explain. Ivy was was talking with an older man who looked like he’d been plucked from the local morgue, washed and shaved, and dropped here against his will. And Lillie was cradling Nebby in her hands, while a very young girl with haunted purple eyes clutched a very dirty Pikachu doll, limp in her arms. 

“Selene,” Gary said, the first to notice the trio enter. 

Everyone stopped their conversations. 

“Ho! You finally made it!” Kukui said, grinning like it was going out of style. Before Selene could do anything about it, he scooped her into a crushing hug. “Good lookin’ at you, good lookin’! I see my Max Potion worked its magic, oh yeah!”

Selene somehow managed to survive his affectionate greeting without breaking any more bones. “Yeah, thanks, Professor. I’m much better now.”

“And Gladion, back to your old self, yeah?”

Gladion nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Gladion,” Lillie said, reaching for him. 

The siblings embraced—Lillie teary-eyed and Gladion a little uncomfortable at all the eyes on them. Lillie sniffled and managed a bright smile. “I guess it’s better late than never, us finally meeting up?”

Gladion set his jaw. “Yeah.”

“So these are the last two?” said the dark, muscular woman. Her eyes found Selene’s hands, but her expression was flinty and immutable. 

“You got it, cos,” said Kukui. “Oh, yeah, you haven’t properly met. Selene, Gladion, this is Kahuna Olivia. She’s actually my cousin, too, believe it or not!”

“Charmed. Now, maybe you can enlighten me on whatever was too sensitive for the police to hear?” Olivia was looking at Burnet. 

Burnet looked supremely uncomfortable. “You have to understand, this project was confidential for a reason. I only continued my work researching the Ultra Beasts in the hopes of learning ways to defend against them.” Her eyes found Lillie and Gladion, full of remorse. “I knew Lusamine would never stop trying to open the portal to Ultra Space, not while she believed Professor Mohn might still be alive out there.”

“Ultra Beasts,” Ivy said, flashing her Pokédex. “So you’re seriously telling me this thing is from another _dimension_?”

“Not another dimension—another world,” said the young girl with the violet eyes. 

Her dirty Pikachu doll wriggled in her arms suddenly and fell to the floor, where it began to move of its own accord. Shadowy, black tendrils snaked over the white-tiled floor beneath it, and Selene gasped. Hau jumped in surprise, and Gladion put an arm out to shield Lillie and Nebby, backing them up. 

“Whoa! That doll’s alive?!” Hau said. 

“Mimikyu’s not a doll,” the girl said. “He’s a Ghost.”

A Ghost… But that must mean that this creepy girl had to be—

“It’s okay,” Lillie said, gently lowering Gladion’s arm and stepping around him. “Mr. Nanu brought Acerola and Mimikyu here to help Nebby.” 

“What do you mean, another world?” Selene asked. 

Acerola looked up at her. She was a small girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, but there was something in her air, in her haunted eyes, that spoke of a soul far older. “Ultra Space, where Cosmoem came from. She has the power to cross between worlds, and open the way for others.”

“O-Others?” Hau said. “Like, you mean, Nebby’s friends?”

Acerola smiled like she’d practiced the expression a thousand times, but never could get it quite right. “Not friends, enemies. They’re angry, and they want revenge.”

“Revenge for what?” Gladion said, frustrated. “What are you talking about?”

“For sealing them away. You felt it, didn’t you? The door… It’s open.”

She took Lillie’s hand in hers and held Nebby in between them. 

“They’re coming for _you_.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a while, I know… I got sucked in to the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, finished an entire fic, and now I’m back! It was fun doing something different for a bit, but I’ve really missed Pokémon so much, and especially this fic in particular.
> 
> Thanks to my lovely beta, Gwen, who is super duper fine for working so hard on cleaning up this chapter so quickly! And thanks as always to those of you still reading this and sending me comments! You guys keep me coming back here. :)


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